What is God Thinking?

​I’d say this question is asked by all of humanity at some point in time.  Some of us ask this question daily, others, only in times of distress.  What was God thinking, we wonder - was there a lesson I was to learn?  Did He do this to teach me to persevere?  Was the purpose of this to show me how independent I can be?  Was He showing me His love?  Sometimes when God shows us His love it may not feel the way we prefer to feel love.  If you have ever wondered the thoughts of God, you are not the first.  We read in Genesis 30 about sisters Leah and Rachel both married to the same man, Jacob, and in competition for his love.  They each want to bear children from him as proof of his love.  

4So she [Rachel] gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, 5and she became pregnant and bore him a son.  6Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.” Because of this she named him Dan.
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17God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
19Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.
21Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
22Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. 23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” 24She named him Joseph, and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.”

We see in this passage that the sisters are in great competition to bear the most sons.  They experience hurt feelings, jealousy, sibling rivalry, all to hide the underlying feelings of bitterness, humiliation and unworthiness each of the women felt to differing degrees.  When the women, themselves, could not conceive, they gave their servants to gain an edge over the other.  In verse 6, Rachel believes God has vindicated her and has succumbed to her begging.  In verse 17 we are told that God listened to Leah.  She interprets it as her reward or prize for giving him her servant.  Later when Leah conceives again, she believes God has given her a son, so that she will then gain her husband’s love.  In verse 22 we are told God remembers Rachel, listened to her and enabled her to conceive, thus removing her disgrace. 

This passage, while it took place, we believe, from 1836 BC to 1689 BC, shows us that we are not the first to attempt to determine God’s thinking.  Several things to note about this passage.  
1.  God is not a participant in our sin.  He doesn’t participate in our attempts to one-up our peers, our pettiness, or our attempts to make others jealous or to humiliate.  If we think He is a participant we are wrong. 
~Habakkuk 1:13 
Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;  you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?  Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?

2.  God’s plan is sovereign.  Although we are made in the image of God, having the ability to think, reason, create and plan, we must never underestimate Him.  His plan overrides our plans every second of every day. 
~Colossians 1:16–17
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

3.  Our prayers do not change His plans.  God cares for mankind.  He knitted each of us together within our mother’s womb.  He knows our every need, want, desire, motivation, insecurity, fear, and more.  Our prayers are our communication with Him.  Our prayers help us to stay in alignment with him, but our prayers do not change His will.  In the example above, God had formed a covenant with Abraham (Jacob’s grandfather) that his descendants would be too numerous to count.  The sons Rachel and Leah bore to Jacob were the descendants of Abraham. 
~James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

4. God doesn’t forget about our situations or conditions.  Scripture says God remembered Rachel, and He listened to Leah.  This could make us think that maybe He forgets about our problems or sometimes doesn’t listen to our prayers.  I think these are examples of anthropomorphisms - when Scripture attributes human traits to our sovereign God in order to help us understand.  Genesis 8:1 tells us, “But God remembered Noah and the animals…”  Let’s understand that He didn’t actually forget.  To be forgetful is a flaw and He is not flawed.  How can He forget something we are constantly praying/begging for, anyway?  When the solution to our situation takes longer than we are willing to wait, we may think God forgot.  When His plans align with our prayers we may rejoice and say He listened.  We must always remember our place and never confuse it with His.  He is sovereign in every way and His sovereignty is beyond our imagination.  
~Ephesians 1:11
11In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

As you continue throughout the week trying to figure out what God is thinking, meditate on Romans 11:34-36

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34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
    Or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Who has ever given to God,
    that God should repay them?”
36 For from him and through him and for him
   are all things.
    To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Thank you for reading!
Happy Valentine's Day!
(Sorry it was long - I have to write what I am given.  Amen.)
Kim

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