“If I were in charge, thing would be a lot different.” Have you ever had such thoughts? Here are a few things that I might change:
- Get rid of corrupt politicians
- Stop human trafficking
- End poverty and hunger
- Cure cancer
- End abortion
- End immorality in entertainment
- Evangelism of all unreached people groups
What would your list look like?
We all have our imaginary lists of things we would change. But we must ask: If I was in charge of things, where does that leave God and his sovereign purposes?
In The Knowledge of the Holy, a classic study about the attributes of God, A.W. Tozer quotes Daniel 2:20: “…Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and power are his.” We see two aspects of God nature revealed in this verse: his wisdom and his power. According to the author, this great truth should prompt us to “bless the name of the Lord forever and ever.”
Albert Einstein once said, “The attempt to combine wisdom and power has only rarely been successful and then only for a short time.” Although we are created in God’s image, that image has been severely distorted in us through sin. We are more foolish than we are wise, and man has proven over and over that power often leads to corruption.
God’s wisdom and power were present at creation. “But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding” (Jeremiah 10:12).
The plan of salvation itself is saturated with both his wisdom and his power. “But we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24).
God does not limit his power and wisdom to creation or even to our redemption. In his sovereignty, God has all of history in mind. He always does what is right, and he never does what is wrong.
If we were able to have God’s infinite power, we may be tempted to change things in the world. However, if God’s perfect wisdom were also granted to us, we would change nothing. Every attribute of God’s character is perfect, and every part of his nature works in perfect harmony with every other part. Therefore, neither God nor anything he does can be improved.
Tozer wrote, “With the goodness of God to desire our highest welfare, and the wisdom of God to plan it, and the power of God to achieve it, what do we lack? Surely we are the most favored of all creatures.”
We are confident that global missions is central to God’s plan, and we are confident that God’s sovereignty undergirds all his purposes. God is all wise. God is all powerful. He is wise in his how he uses his power—and he is powerful to accomplishing his wise plans! Fellow believers, be encouraged, we can boldly agree with William Carey’s proclamation: “The future is as bright as the promises of God.” And we can agree with Daniel: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and power are his.”
