Day 7: The secret things
Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:20-22).
Heavenly Father, You alone are the great God, the great King above all gods (Psalm 95:3). But the world is filled with impostors and counterfeit gods.
The pall over Your perfect creation began with deceit and distortion, and with the pride and rebellion that sought to challenge Your supreme authority and to usurp Your absolute sovereignty. And through the ages there have been no shortage of "gods".
But You have been clear that deceivers and false gods can never be confused with the Sovereign God of all creation: “I am the Lord; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols (Isaiah 42:8). You alone are from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 90:5) , and You issue a challenge that no false god or idol could ever meet:
“Present your case,” says the Lord. “Set forth your arguments...Tell us, you idols, what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come, tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods... (Isaiah 41:21-23).
By contrast You describe Your own omnipotence: ‘I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please…' (Isaiah 46:9-10). You made this and similar declarations (Isaiah 41:4, 45:21) in the middle of events that were unfolding exactly as You had told Your people through Your prophets.
And today the truth of Your powerful word continues to clearly distinguish You from the false gods and the idols of the ages. Your purpose still stands— what You have said, that You will bring about; what You have planned, that You will do (Isaiah 46:11). But deceivers, deceptions, and distortions are all around us.
The apostle Paul teaches us how to navigate this murky terrain, Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good; reject every kind of evil. At the same time, remind us that You have declared Your word in advance — not so that we would be unduly preoccupied with the future, or spend our days in speculations and predictions.
Instead, You have exalted Your name and Your word above everything (Psalm 138:2 - NRSVUE) — revealing Yourself as the one true God in order to lead souls to repentance and deliverance. Remind us of the words You spoke to Your people:
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law (Deuteronomy 29:29).
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