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August 30 Daily Devotional

God’s Perfect Way

Frans Bakker

As for God, his way is perfect. —Psalm 18:30

Bible Reading

Psalm 18:25–30

Devotional

The greatest sorrow on earth is to be outside of God’s communion. Tokens of His presence and songs in the night all flow from the merits of the Savior. Apart from Him we would have to tread the crooked roads of our life under God’s anger and we would be forsaken of Him. That would be a foretaste of being forsaken by God forever. Even then we would have to admit that the Lord is just and righteous in all His ways.

Certainly, there are crooked ways. There are burdensome ways, and also deep ways. When we learn to understand the cause of these ways in our lives then they become gracious and blessed ways. The cause lies in our sins. A difficult way can lead us to recognize our sin and will humble us before God. Crooked ways can draw us closer to Him. Then these difficult ways become blessed ways. Then the greatest miracle is the deep mystery of God that He gave His beloved Son who descended as low as the greatest sinner had fallen. He took the most difficult way. Because of this work, no suffering that a child of God experiences is deeper than Christ has experienced. Therefore His own only have to follow Him. Paul said, “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus” (Gal. 6:17). Because of God’s grace the sufferings are only marks or scars for Paul, because Christ Himself bore the actual wounds.

It was not the pain of the wounds that made Christ’s suffering so deep, but the fact that in His sorrow He was without God. His complaint was not about His wounds but about being without God’s presence. He cried in the pitch-black night of suffering so that you, child of God, may have a song in the night. When you have been at the foot of the cross then you cannot complain about your own way. Rather you will seek to glory in your tribulation. You then wish to bring glory to Christ who provides balm for your wounds. This balm is that you do not have to bear your cross alone. What a blessing to forget yourself and to have only a suffering and dying Mediator!

Then again you are led on a way you cannot understand. This is the way of God’s amazing love for His people. It is a way which you cannot fathom. Along the path you fall down in adoration because of the love of God shown to you through Christ. Then you understand, no matter how dark your way may be, it will still be well, for the Lord looks down in favor on all who fear Him. The favor of the Lord changes the bitterness into sweetness. All things work together for good. God uses all things to bring His people closer to Him. They remain strangers here on earth and their sufferings lead them to look forward to a better country. All things will turn out for their eternal gain. The pathway God’s children walk is a display of God’s love, and it is all to the honor and glory of His Name.

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.

 

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