God sees more, deeper, and further
Fate is blind, they say. Not so God. He sees everyone and everything, and He looks deep beneath the surface. He recognises the distress and troubles. And He does not leave it at that. He helps, now and for all eternity. Here is what is coming up in our Sunday services in August.
“Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees.” These words from Genesis 16: 13 are the focus of the first Sunday in August. They were spoken by Hagar, who was pregnant from Abram and fled from his wife, Sarai. This is the only place in the Bible where God’s name El-Roï (Hebrew for “You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees”) appears.
God sees every human being, He perceives everyone personally and as an individual, also and especially in difficult situations. He watches over us with eyes of love. He also sees our distress and troubles. God sees His people, the followers of Christ. Even if storms threaten: He has His sights set firmly on His work and will complete it.
God knows each person completely
“You alone know the hearts of the sons of men,” it says in 2 Chronicles 6: 30–31. This is what the second Sunday revolves around. The Bible text is taken from Solomon’s prayer to dedicate the temple in Jerusalem.
The heart here does not refer to human feelings, to emotions, because this is what the mind represented. The heart here is the seat of reason, the human ability to plan, and the human will (intellect).
And thus it becomes clear that God knows the intentions, desires, and aims of every single human being. We cannot hide from Him. It is more effective to take a critical look at the things in our heart and ask, are our desires in harmony with the will of God as it is made clear in the gospel?
The Lord looks for those who seek Him
God not only sees the intentions of people, but also the silent heartache. And He not only looks, but helps, gives sanctification and peace. This will be the focus on the third Sunday, based on the story of the unnamed woman who had been suffering from bleeding for twelve years.
Jesus was in a crowd and felt someone touch His clothes. He immediately sensed that power has gone out from Him. And He turned to look and see who it was and responded to this silent cry for help. “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction” (Mark 5: 34).
The plan of salvation and what needs to be done
However, the actual healing that God wants to give us is eternal salvation. He has a plan for that. And He reveals it to us: not all at once, but step by step. In any case, He tells us what we must know and do to be saved.
God is above time. God knows the future just as He knows the past and present. The Lord sees the spiritual dangers that threaten us and warns us. And He also tells us how to deal with these threats.
What exactly these dangers are and what can be done about them is the subject of the fourth Sunday in August, which will be based on Luke 21: 36: “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Photo: PaulShlykov - stock.adobe.com
