Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! [Romans 11:33 (ESV)]
Last Friday, I wrote that I preferred visiting the enigmatic swamp to the impeccable Botanic Garden because it more closely resembles the confusion and disorder of this holy mess we call life. Nevertheless, hidden in its mystifying disarray of vines, trees, lichens, ferns and other assorted plants and animals, order can be found.
On certain days, when conditions are just right, beautiful orb spider webs can be seen in the early morning light. These amazing feats of engineering begin when a spider floats just one strand of silk on the wind to another surface. After securing the line, the spider crosses the “bridge,” reinforcing it as he goes and continues to drop and secure lines. Eventually, a nearly perfect circular web is constructed of numerous concentric circles with spokes going out from the center. A spider’s web can be anything from a few inches to six feet across. Ounce for ounce, spider silk is five to six times stronger than the same weight of steel. More elastic than rubber, it can stretch two to four times its length without breaking. Only a tenth the diameter of a human hair, a strand of spider silk long enough to circle the earth would weigh less than a bar of soap! I find it humbling that one diminutive eight-legged creature can construct a complex web from a thread we humans can’t even reproduce. There is nothing haphazard or chaotic about spiders and webs. Their amazing creations tell me that, unplanned as the swamp or our lives may seem, there is nothing random or haphazard about them—they are as much a part of God’s amazing and complex plan as are spider webs.
On most days, the spiders’ delicate webs are difficult to see; yet, even when they are indiscernible, I know they are there. God’s plan is much like that—sometimes it appears crystal clear and other times it seems undetectable. Nevertheless, there is a divine plan for each one of us! Whether or not I see their webs, I know the spiders are there and haven’t abandoned the swamp. Regardless of our perception of His plan, we can be sure that God is in control and won’t abandon us either. If we believe in the goodness of God, we must trust His plan (whether or not we understand or appreciate it). Like the spiders’ webs, it is intricate and sometimes difficult to discern. It is, however, a plan of strength, resilience and exquisite beauty.
God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass. [Westminister Confession of Faith]
In the infinite wisdom of the Lord of all the earth, each event falls with exact precision into its proper place in the unfolding of His divine plan. Nothing, however small, however strange, occurs without His ordering, or without its particular fitness for its place in the working out of His purpose; and the end of all shall be the manifestation of His glory, and the accumulation of His praise. [B.B. Warfield]
As for the “House of Lost Dreams,” about which I wrote yesterday—almost overnight, where once a dilapidated ruin stood, a beautiful house now stands. The roof tiles are repaired and clean, the house is freshly painted, the overgrown yard tamed, and a “For Sale” sign stands in the yard.
For the last several years, we’ve frequently driven by a house we called the “House of Lost Dreams.” Apparently forsaken by both bank and borrower, we watched as tarps blew off windows, roof tiles grew black with mold, and ivy and kudzu grew on the walls. Eventually, plants nearly obscured the deteriorating house from view as Mother Nature took back ownership of the land.
For two years, I was part of a women’s ministry. One of its purposes was to host a web site for twelve Christian writers. We were a diverse multi-generational group and the site offered hyperlinks to our individual blogs. All were women who felt they’d been called by God to expand His kingdom through their writing. We regularly shared our prayer concerns with one another and a month rarely passed without one or more women requesting prayers for their writing or asking for divine inspiration. Sadly, the ministry disbanded this past year, in great part due to the lack of writing by most of the authors.
Carrying posters, displaying bumper stickers, wearing t-shirts, or hash tagging with the words, “He’s not my president!” changes absolutely nothing. After today, he is. How we voted, who got the popular vote, whether we’re happy or outraged, whether we have faith in him or not makes no difference. This is what we have for the next four years.
Devotions of the Heart 