Year: 2019

The Mind of God

Verses about the LORD does not change:

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
Malachi 3:6 ESV

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
James 1:17 ESV

Verses about the LORD will not change His mind or will not turn back:

The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Psalms 110:4 ESV

“For this the earth shall mourn, and the heavens above be dark; for I have spoken; I have purposed; I have not relented, nor will I turn back.”
Jeremiah 4:28 ESV

I am the Lord . I have spoken; it shall come to pass; I will do it. I will not go back; I will not spare; I will not relent; according to your ways and your deeds you will be judged, declares the Lord God .”
Ezekiel 24:14 ESV

Verses about the LORD regretted, repented, and/or relented:

And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord .
Genesis 6:6‭-‬8 ESV

Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.'” And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
Exodus 32:12‭-‬14 ESV

For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free.
Deuteronomy 32:36 ESV

Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.
Judges 2:18 ESV

“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night.
1 Samuel 15:11 ESV

And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
1 Samuel 15:35 ESV

And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
2 Samuel 24:16 ESV

And God sent the angel to Jerusalem to destroy it, but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw, and he relented from the calamity. And he said to the angel who was working destruction, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
1 Chronicles 21:15 ESV

Return, O Lord ! How long? Have pity on your servants!
Psalms 90:13 ESV

For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
Psalms 106:45 ESV

For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.
Psalms 135:14 ESV

If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it.
Jeremiah 18:7‭-‬10 ESV

It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds.
Jeremiah 26:3 ESV

Now therefore mend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you.
Jeremiah 26:13 ESV

Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord , and did not the Lord relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves.”
Jeremiah 26:19 ESV

and said to them, “Thus says the Lord , the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him: If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you.
Jeremiah 42:9‭-‬10 ESV

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord , “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God?
Joel 2:12‭-‬14 ESV

When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said, “O Lord God , please forgive! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!” The Lord relented concerning this: “It shall not be,” said the Lord . This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, the Lord God was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. Then I said, “O Lord God , please cease! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!” The Lord relented concerning this: “This also shall not be,” said the Lord God .
Amos 7:2‭-‬6 ESV

Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
Jonah 3:9‭-‬10 ESV

Verses contrasting the mind of the LORD to man’s:

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
Numbers 23:19 ESV

And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.”
1 Samuel 15:29 ESV

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:9 ESV

in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began
Titus 1:2 ESV

so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
Hebrews 6:18 ESV

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8‭-‬9 ESV

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”
Romans 11:33‭-‬34 ESV

Encouragement when it is hard for us to put the above together into perfect harmony and understanding– He knows:

O Lord , you know; remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors. In your forbearance take me not away; know that for your sake I bear reproach. Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord , God of hosts. I did not sit in the company of revelers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone, because your hand was upon me, for you had filled me with indignation. Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you be to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail? Therefore thus says the Lord : “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them. And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, declares the Lord . I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.”
Jeremiah 15:15‭-‬21 ESV

And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God , you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord . Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord .” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God : Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God : Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord , when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord ; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord .”
Ezekiel 37:3‭-‬14 ESV

Wait and Hope

When we find ourselves in circumstances where we have been receiving “bad” or “challenging” news repeatedly for a while, the words “wait and hope” can seem… well… tiresome to be quite honest. If you were struggling, and I told you to “wait and hope”, that might not seem very helpful if you were worn and tired and didn’t know if there was any reason to continue to hold out hope any longer.

You might be weighing the options trying to decide whether to hold out hope in the direction you have been headed, or whether a change in direction is necessary. You might be at the end of your own strength ands no.t knowing how much longer you can make it under the current circumstances.

The Psalmist writes:

I wait for the Lord , my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
Psalms 130:5 ESV

And Isaiah tells us:

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:28‭-‬31 ESV

And Matthew tells us:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28‭-‬30 ESV

So when we understand “wait and hope”, it doesn’t just mean to “wait for the bad to pass” and “hope that better things lie ahead” — it means “wait upon the Lord” and “hope in His word”.

You might ask, “What does it even mean to wait upon the Lord?”

“Waiting upon” is not the same as “waiting for”.

If I am “waiting for” someone — I have an expectation of their arrival, they are coming to meet me.

If I am “waiting upon” someone — I am serving them, I am going to them.

Can you see the difference in direction?

“Waiting for” means I’m expecting someone to come to me, while “waiting upon” means I am going to them and serving them willingly.

So can we see the difference in perspective with respect to God?

Are we “waiting for God” to “fix” or circumstances to what we think they should be — expecting God’s to come to us on our own terms and conditions?

Or are we “waiting upon God” as God and faithful servants seeking God’s wil and His glory in whatever circumstances the day brings to bear?

And when it comes to “hope” — are we “hoping for” what we want instead of “hoping in” His Word?

Again, we see the same difference in direction with regards comparing a carnal “hope for” versus a spirit filled “hope in”.

So yes, if you are tired, if you are weary, if you do not know where to turn, I say “wait and hope” dear friend — wait UPON the Lord and hope IN the Lord. And in that perspective, you will know peace even in the midst of the fiery furnace and the raging storm.