Romans 9:19-33
Be Still: Lord, as I sit and reflect on your Word, open my eyes to see you. Amen
Read: Romans 9:19-33
'What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory.' (v22-23)
Encounter: I can clearly remember having to make choices of what to study at university. Languages or sciences? I loved both and, at that age, I believed that this choice would dictate the trajectory of my life. I ultimately ended up going down the sciences route but sometimes, especially when life is confusing, I do wonder –'What if I had chosen to go down the languages route? What would life have looked like then and now?' Thinking like that can skew my perspective of my present life circumstances,
The hypothetical question 'What if...?' causes us to imagine multiple possible outcomes in a situation and in this verse, we see Paul asking that question.
We read yesterday that God has complete authority to do as he wills. In today’s passage, Paul continues to emphasise the point that God is sovereign. Paul retells the story of the Israelites to demonstrate that God’s rescue plan and his Word have never failed. Yet, 'what if' God in his sovereignty had chosen to pour wrath upon all his erring people and indeed on us, sinners by disposition? Instead, the reality we can rest in, is that God chose and chooses to show mercy.
God’s mercy is demonstrated on the Cross. A.W Tozer says 'It was the mercy of God that gave us Calvary, not Calvary that gave us mercy. If God had not been merciful there would have been no incarnation, no babe in the manger, no man on a cross and no open tomb.' The Bible has over 60,000 references to God’s plan for the world he loves. When we catch a glimpse of that over-arching plan, it puts our lives into perspective – his perspective.
Apply: Have you lost sight of the big picture the Bible gives us? Could you take time to look through a summary of the big picture – there are plenty of freely available on-line resources (like The Bible Project) that can be helpful.
Devote: Lord, when I have lost sight of your sovereign plan, remind me that you are the King of all. Help me to look to you and you alone.