3-Legged Stool of Stability for Difficult Times – Summary & Conclusions
God, because of His nature, cannot be unkind, cannot make a mistake, and cannot be surprised! Considering these truths, the only logical conclusion we can come to is that we can rest!!! We can be tranquil in an ever-changing, stressful environment. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:5-7 NIV). “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3 NKJV).
There is an old hymn that says, “Our times are in Thy hands, Father we wish them there.” If He were not both loving and wise, we would dread His control. If He were not sovereign, He would be incapable of control. But since He is who He is, we want Him to be in ultimate control. The beginning and end of one Psalm says, “You are my God and protector. ... I can lie down and sleep soundly because You, LORD, will keep me safe” (Psalm 4:1a, 8 CEV).
Perfect love, infinite wisdom, and absolute sovereignty. God is too loving to be unkind, too wise to make a mistake, and is in total control—therefore I can rest!
Visualize a three-legged stool with its three legs providing absolute stability even on uneven and rough ground. These legs are God’s sacrificial love, His infinite wisdom, and His absolute sovereignty. The seat of the stool is labeled peace. The ground below is uneven, but as long as we are seated on the stool, the three legs provide tranquility unknown to the world around us.
In my introduction to this three-part series I mentioned that since these three attributes were impressed upon my mind I have found that others have also come up with three critical aspects of God’s nature and the practical significance of them. There are remarkable similarities in all of them.
A.W. Tozer wrote: With the goodness of God to desire our highest welfare, the wisdom of God to plan it, and the power of God to achieve it, what do we lack?
Thomas Eskine put it this way: How reasonable it is to trust ourselves to the keeping of God’s infinite love, and infinite wisdom, and infinite power.
In 2004 I learned that Chuck Swindoll had written on the Book of Job where he states that God is too kind to do anything cruel… too wise to make a mistake… and too deep to explain Himself.
Finally, I found the following saying but without reference or credit to the writer: Lord You are perfect love and want only what is best for me. You are perfect wisdom and You know what is best for me. And You are perfect power and You are able to make it happen.
Sleep well!
CONTEMPLATE: Suppose someone asked you to explain the structure of the book of Psalms. How would you reply?
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