Matthew 16:21-23 (NIV): From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
God’s ways are infinitely higher than the ways of ANY man. God’s plans are ALWAYS perfect, because He is able to do whatever He purposes, perfect in every detail. And, since He sees the end from the beginning, His actions and plans have NO unintended consequences.
Of course, to those who can only see the dimension of the physical world, many of God’s actions and instructions seem misguided, just as they did to Peter. He could only hear the part about Jesus’ arrest and murder at the hands of the religious leaders. At that point, he stopped listening, and completely missed the victory that God would bring about through the resurrection! But Jesus had known this plan from of old – from all of eternity. He could see the victory that lay just over the hill of seeming defeat. He understood that, in reality, His death would in no way be a defeat at all, but the first of a dynamic one-two punch that would lay the enemy low, take back his territory, and sow the seeds of his ultimate destruction.
Every day people argue with God about His plans and His methods. They try to educate Him on how things really are, and about what would work better or be more effective. But God’s plans are always right, always best, and are the ONLY ones that take ALL factors into consideration – those that can be seen by human eyes, and those that exist only in the spiritual dimensions. It is okay if we as God’s people don’t understand all that He is doing, or the overall purpose of His commands to us; God’s ways are always beyond searching out. But when He speaks, our job is not to troubleshoot His plans, or to give Him better advice. Our only job is to immediately fall in line with His agenda, and to obey His commands to the letter. That is the only way to work in the kingdom.
Father, I believe that You know all things and see all things, and that Your way is unquestionably the best. I commit myself to following and obeying Your every word without question, so that I can fully accomplish Your will, not just for my life, but for every life that I can touch in Your name. Amen.