It was November
10, 1871 when probably one of the most famous meetings of all time took
place. Henry Stanley met missionary David Livingstone after searching for him
for 8 months. He took off his hat and said, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume.” He
presumed correctly. The greeting and the rest of their lives are history.
It was
probably easy for Mr. Stanley to presume that the only other non-African man was
the one he sought. Dr. Livingstone’s helper had greeted Mr. Stanley first, in
English, so Stanley knew Livingstone was there. It was a sure “presumption.”
I think, however, that sometimes maybe we
presume too much. Here
are some of the statements I’ve heard or read recently:
- We are in the end times.
- Satan is obviously attacking you.
- This was God working in __________’s life.
Let’s take
these statements one at a time.
1. We are in the end times.—We may presume that we are in the end
times, since Jesus told His disciples that His return was imminent. (John 16:16)
They believed they were in the end times, and we may safely assume the same two
thousand years later. The truth is that we don’t know the day, but we must be
ready. Remember the parable of the wise and foolish virgins? The wise ladies
were the ones who were ready when the bridegroom came. That’s the way we’re
supposed to be: ready and waiting. (Matthew 25:1-13) God hasn’t told us the
date, and He hasn’t given us very specific occurrences. When World War I was
happening, many Christians thought they were living in the end times. During World
War II, people believed it was then. Jesus said, But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not
the angels of heaven, but my Father only (Matthew 24:36; similar verse in Mark 13:32). So yes, we
are in the end times, but we don’t know how close to the end we are. We have no
idea if the Lord will wait another thousand years or if He might come tonight.
God has a different sense of time than we do. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with
the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter
3:8). What we can say with surety is that Jesus is coming. The end times are
near, and we need to be ready because Jesus return is imminent. He which testifieth these things saith,
Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus (Revelation 22:20).
2. Satan is obviously attacking you. Except for Job and a couple other
instances in the Bible, we are not told what exactly Satan is allowed to do in
a life. In the book of Job, we’re given a “ringside view” of how Satan accused
and got permission to afflict Job. All of his attack was subject to God’s last
word, and, as we know, God blessed Job more in the end than at the beginning.
We do know that Jesus was able to discern the workings of Satan, since He
reproved them. (Matthew 4:10; 16:23; Mark 18:33) He recognized that Satan had
hurt people, like the woman with the issue of blood, Peter, and Judas. Jesus is
God, so He understands these things. He’s the One Who is over everything that
happens in heaven and on earth. So, He knows. But, we don’t. Except for
characteristics of the devil (deception, lying, possession, and oppression) we
have no idea if Satan is doing something, if a demon is involved, or if the
sickness or infirmity was allowed for God to get the glory. (See my post on the
man who was born blind, here.) I feel like we give a little too much credit to
the devil and not enough to Him Who is all-knowing and sovereign. We don’t know
and can’t know. We’re not God.
3. This was God working in __________’s
life. Just as we can’t
accurately discern the enemy’s work, I’m not so sure we can know exactly how God works. Oh yes, there are direct
answers to prayer, and we know God did something wonderful. That’s not what I’m
talking about. I’m referring to something like this: A lady has been living in
sin. She had claimed to be a Christian and had actually been very active in the
church for a time. Now, she is living with her boyfriend, and it’s been going
on for a few years. She is not longer in church. One day, she goes to work in
her car and has a terrible accident. She ends up in the hospital on a
ventilator and very bandaged up. Thankfully, she recovers.* The people in her
former church start commenting, “This was God working in Lady X’s life.” Again,
how do we know? If Jesus had used
this example in the Word of God, well then, that would be knowing. But, we are not privy to how God works. Oh yes, He could
be trying to get Lady X’s attention. Very possible. But, we can’t be sure, since
we are not God. If we were in the church that Lady X used to attend, our
response should be to encourage her in her recuperation. If you felt led by the
Holy Spirit, you might speak to her about living in sin, that you would like to
pray for her to do right before God. You might offer to have a Bible study with
her. But, you cannot judge how God is doing things. Yes, God spared her life.
You can rejoice with her that He gave her another opportunity. Solomon put it
this way, Then
I beheld all the work of God, that a man
cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man
labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man
think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it (Ecclesiastes 8:17). We are accurate inasmuch as we observe
that God allowed something to happen. We cannot, though, assume that we
understand exactly what He means to do through it.
What we can presume is that God knows what
He is doing, at any time, and at any point in history. He knows what He is
doing in your life, and He knows what He’s doing in mine. He is sovereign, and
He has already won the victory over sin, death, and the devil himself. God is
great! Praise Him!
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the
victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren,
be ye stedfast, unmoveable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord,
forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not
in vain in the Lord.
(1 Corinthians 15:57-58)
*I made up
this story. It does not represent anyone.
