One of the tests of my spiritual health is: How well do I accept God’s ways? It is one thing to accept God’s Word, but it is quite another thing to accept His ways. That is because His ways strike me directly and, sometimes, contrarily. Yet, however I like or dislike God’s ways, “the ways of the Lord are right” (Hosea 14:9).That means He always deals with me in righteousness (or fairness, justice), not in partiality. If God’s ways are not pleasing to me, it is because He is righteous and I am sinful. To the extent that I am “righteous,” that is, agree with God’s character, I will find His ways to be perfectly delightful. If I stumble over God’s ways it is because there is an element of sin in me that has not been judged.
But I must remember that while God always deals with me from righteousness, it is always through love. “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely” (Hosea 14:4, KJV). Love makes it possible for a righteous God and sinful people to find a common ground of meeting. Because I know God loves me, I know I can trust His ways even though they may seem painful and irksome and foreign to my nature. Love is God’s way of telling me that His ways are not meant to crush but to lift me. Without that love, life under the rule of God would be horrible slavery.
God’s love does not change the content of His ways. They may still be bitter or heavy, but love guarantees me that however rough those ways may be, they are leading me to something better, something glorious in the days to come. So love is not only my protector; it is my hope and inspiration. How thrilled I am to be serving a God who is absolutely right in all He does, yet absolutely tender in how He does it! Let His name be praised!
“When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7).
Daily with the King 