Ezekiel 14:23 GNT
“‘Then you will know that there was good reason for everything I did.’ The Sovereign LORD has spoken.”
The Prophet Isaiah once said this about God: “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable” (Isa 40:28 NKJV). It takes knowing and hearing to better understand what the LORD has done or is doing for our good. One factor that facilitates that process is time. Yes, until the passage of time, when we can finally look over our shoulders in the past, we may never appreciate how God was doing great things all the while for our blessings, safety, and salvation, even when things once weighed down our hearts at the time.
During the second captivity of the Israelites in Babylon, for example, some of them seemed skeptical of God’s judgment of the evil in Jerusalem. However, the LORD responded that He would make it plain for them to see why Jerusalem was purged (Eze 14:22). And He added, “Then you will know that there was good reason for everything I did”, as in our text of reference. Hallelujah! Yes, David testified to that truth about God when he said to Him, “…You are justified when You speak [Your sentence] and faultless in Your judgment” (Psa 51:4 AMP). That takes time, patience, and an open mind, among others, to realize. Blessedly, when the fullness of time had come, the very Israelites said this:
“When the Lord brought back the captives [who returned] to Zion, we were like those who dream [it seemed so unreal]. Then were our mouths filled with laughter, and our tongues with singing. Then they said among the nations, The Lord has done great things for them. The Lord has done great things for us! We are glad!” (Psa 126:1-3 AMPC). Hallelujah! That tells us, until we see the whole picture of what the LORD is doing, let us remain patient and prayerful, trusting that it shall always be well with the righteous (Isa 3:10). Beloved, be reminded that in Christ Jesus, it is “…God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure” (Php 2:13 AMP)
Pst. Emmanuel