Isaiah 55:9 – “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Proverbs 3:5 – “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
In the above verses, the first explicitly states that the ways of God Almighty far surpass the ways of mankind; and the second teaches us to lean not unto our own understanding. This truth is clearly illustrated in a story told by B.H. Carroll:
“An old man, a very pious, true Christian, was deeply concerned because his two boys were infidels, and all through his life he had tried to illustrate the truth and power of the Christian religion before those boys, and it seemed to have no effect on them. They would not heed his precepts, nor follow his example. Finally, he got the idea in his head that he ought to pray God to make his death powerful in leading these boys to Christ, so when the time came for him to die, to his surprise, instead of everything being bright and he as happy as an angel and singing like a lark, he was in the most awful distress of mind. It was all dark to him. Promises, which, when he was well, seemed as bright as stars, were now darkness, and instead of being able to show his children the triumphant glory of a dying saint, he was showing his children that he was groping as he came to pass away, and so he died. The boys observed it very carefully. They had expected the old man to die a very happy death. They thought he was entitled to it. But when they saw a man that lived as righteously as he had, who when he came to pass away, had to go through deep water, one said to the other, ‘Tom, if our father had such a time as that, what kind of a time do you reckon we are going to have?’ And it influenced their conversion.”*
Here, we have an old man, whose own understanding led him to believe that his happy, peaceful death would influence his heathen sons in the best manner. God, however, whose ways are higher than ours, worked out the conversion of those sons a different way. This may surprise you, but God Almighty does not need your help in explaining to Him how something ought to be done! Whatever it is you face today, God’s got unlimited ways to fix it – ways of which you have neither thought nor dreamed. So, when you go to prayer, bring your cares to Jesus and let Him fix it His way. His ways are higher than ours!
*Carroll, B.H. The Pastoral Epistles of Paul and I and II Peter, Jude, and I, II, and III John. Fleming H. Revell Company. New York, NY. ©1915.
