Reversing God’s Work

“Indeed, before the day was, I am He; and there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?” Isaiah 43:13

After yet another surgery, I was tempted to respond to all who asked how I was doing that all I wanted was for things to get back to normal. I don’t like being unable to participate in life’s happenings. I don’t like my fogged mind when waiting for the anesthesia to leave me. I don’t like being waited on hand and foot. I don’t like the unknown, unseeable aspects of healing.

I don’t like the questions that I inevitably ask of no one: Did the surgery work? Am I really on the mend? Will life finally be back on track for me? Is the pain going to return? And mostly, will I feel normal at last?

God spoke to me through Isaiah. No one could have kept me from going through this ordeal, because God has ordained it and He says there is no one who can deliver out of His hand. He has done a work, and who can reverse it?

And frankly, why would I want to reverse it? Would I rather die untouched by God, left to myself as I am? No. I want God to work in me. His wisdom will dictate the methods of His work, and the boundaries of my afflictions, and the extents to which He will go to be sure I am made in the image of Christ.

That same chapter of Isaiah tells us what He is doing in His work: in verses 16-17, He is making a way in the sea and a path through the mighty waters; in verse 17, He is extinguishing all the earthly powers against us; in verse 18, we aren’t to remember the former things nor consider the things of old; in verse 19, He is doing a NEW THING and we will know it when it springs forth, and He is making a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert; in verse 20, He is giving us a drink (of Himself).

Would I take these gifts away from myself, so that I could go back “to the way things were”?

No, I will not waste my tears on what once was. That time is what was, not what is. What is, is that I am in the Potter’s hands, being molded and shaped by the passage of time and His faithful work in me. Thankfully, He does not give in to my pleading for things to go back to the way they were. He listens for my glad compliance in moving forward, for He does what pleases Him. He is a good Father who does good at all times.

Lord, help us to rejoice in You as we look toward our secure future in Your skillful hands. Amen.