“As for God, His way is perfect. The Word of the Lord is tried; He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him. . .It is God that girds me with strength and makes my way perfect.”
Psalm 18:30, 32
When we serve a perfect God, it stands to reason that He will make available all of His resources “to all those that trust in Him.”
Complete. Dependable. Trustworthy. Sufficient.
All of those descriptive words come to mind when we read in today’s Manna that “God’s way is perfect.” In reality, these words are part of the psalm of praise David composed that day when the Lord had delivered him “out of the hand of all of his enemies and out of the hand of Saul” (II Sam. 22:1ff). Thus, it’s clear the rejoicing shepherd-king knew “God’s way is perfect (Heb. ‘tamiym’—‘entire, integrity, truth, without blemish, complete, undefiled, etc.’)” because God is perfect.
Likewise, because of that never-changing Truth it follows that “The Word of the Lord is tried (Heb. ‘tsaraph’—‘to fuse metal, refine, purge, melt away, etc.’).” Simply put, there’ll never be a time when His Word will fail us, regardless of what type of “fiery furnace” experience we’re going through. Instead, the Heavenly Father will use those trials as His “Refiner’s fires” to transform our faith into 24-karat status (I Pet. 1:6-7). He will also use them to develop within us “patience, Christ-like character and enduring hope” (Rom. 5:3-4). Hallelujah!!
Let’s face it:
There’s no one who wants us to succeed more than God Himself (Rom. 8:31-39). He didn’t create us to be miserable failures. . .constantly shooting ourselves in the foot. . .continually hurting ourselves, others and grieving His Holy Heart, etc. A thousand times no! Instead, He desires for us to be “more than conquerors through Him Who loved us” (Rom. 8:37).
But, He also realizes our propensity for sinning and three Achilles’ Tendons (I Jn. 2:16).
That’s why He sent His dear Son, Jesus, to die for us on the Cross and then sent the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ Ascension so He could “guide us into all truth” (Jn. 16:13) and “convict us of sin, the need of righteousness and judgment to come” (Jn. 16:8-11).
A part of this inward transformation that results in outward changes occurs in our mind, which is “hostile toward God from birth” (Rom. 8:7). After being born from above, He begins opening our spiritual eyes to His wondrous truths, which will then change the way we look at things. That’s why David wrote, “With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful. With the upright man You will show Yourself upright. With the pure You will show Yourself pure” (Ps. 18:25-26a). And, this will in turn cause us to look at Him differently—for “with the perfect (those spiritually mature, complete) You will show Yourself perfect.”
No longer will we entertain doubts as to His faithfulness or trustworthiness. Even though we go through difficulties, we will still trust Him to “prosper us wherever we are” even as He did Joseph (Gen. 39:2-5, 21-23). May we with the psalmist say “With my whole heart have I sought You” (Ps. 119:10). And, do not be surprised if You hear Him saying, “Yea, I will rejoice over you and do you good. . .with My whole Heart and My whole Soul” (Jer. 32:41). Glory!!
By Tom Smith Morning Manna Dated October 9, 2009
