Romans 9:14-18
14: What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not!
15: For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion."
16: So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
17: For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power to you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth."
18: Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and who He wills He hardens.
I was typing out the rest of this chapter when I realized that right here there is so much to understand. To learn. So I stopped at verse 18. What I find amazing is God's power. We have no control in our lives, in the sense of where we want our lives to go, what we want to do with our lives. We have goals, dreams, plans ... but God knows our ultimate plan. For me that's a comforting thought, that even though I don't know the plans for my life, my future, God has me in His hand. and He does have a plan.
"In the face of your troubles your future still shines like the morning sun."
Another question. How can we choose God? If he has complete power, then He chooses us. "For it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy." If we were left with a choice, we would run away from God. That is the nature that we were born with. We would never choose God in our own will. He chooses us, and His Holy Spirit works in us so that we might believe in Him and grow in Him.
"For the Scripture says to Pharaoh,' For this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power to you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth." We're not here for our own glory, but that God might work in us to reveal His power. In us and to the rest of the world. How often I want my own glory. I do things, say things that will make me look good in the eyes of people on this earth. We need to continually fall on our knees and ask God for forgiveness, for strength. To remember surrender.
15: For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion."
16: So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.
17: For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power to you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth."
18: Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and who He wills He hardens.
I was typing out the rest of this chapter when I realized that right here there is so much to understand. To learn. So I stopped at verse 18. What I find amazing is God's power. We have no control in our lives, in the sense of where we want our lives to go, what we want to do with our lives. We have goals, dreams, plans ... but God knows our ultimate plan. For me that's a comforting thought, that even though I don't know the plans for my life, my future, God has me in His hand. and He does have a plan.
"In the face of your troubles your future still shines like the morning sun."
Another question. How can we choose God? If he has complete power, then He chooses us. "For it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy." If we were left with a choice, we would run away from God. That is the nature that we were born with. We would never choose God in our own will. He chooses us, and His Holy Spirit works in us so that we might believe in Him and grow in Him.
"For the Scripture says to Pharaoh,' For this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power to you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth." We're not here for our own glory, but that God might work in us to reveal His power. In us and to the rest of the world. How often I want my own glory. I do things, say things that will make me look good in the eyes of people on this earth. We need to continually fall on our knees and ask God for forgiveness, for strength. To remember surrender.
<< Home