God who is perfect
Psa
18:30
As
for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless.
We
have previously considered God who is good and God whose words are
flawless, but because we so often struggle with this concept we consider
it more widely with this verse now. Why do we struggle with the idea
that God is perfect? Because we often don't understand what is going
on in life and we can't see the whole picture and so we wonder why
God doesn't turn up and do something. Perhaps it's also because we
have had negative experiences in life, especially when we are young,
and those experiences act like a stain or scar on our lives and the
hurt of them distorts our thinking and makes us question God's goodness.
This questioning is not unusual.
Gideon
did it: “But sir," Gideon replied,
"if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where
are all his wonders that our fathers told us about”
(Judges 6:13) He looked at their circumstances
and concluded that God could not be with them. Abraham struggled similarly:
“Abraham fell face down; he laughed and said to himself, "Will
a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child
at the age of ninety?" And Abraham said to God, "If only
Ishmael might live under your blessing!” (Gen
17:17) and this after he had previously believed and been declared
righteous (Gen 15:6), and later his wife similarly struggled, “Then
the LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next
year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening
at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him…..Sarah laughed
to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master
is old, will I now have this pleasure?" Then the LORD said to
Abraham, "…..anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to
you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."
(Gen 18:10-14). When confronted with what seems impossible,
we wonder and question, but God is perfect and when God says something
He means it!
This
idea of God being perfect comes out many times in Scripture: “He
is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful
God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” (Deut
32:4) God is entirely dependable (a rock) because everything
He does is utterly good. “The law of the
LORD is perfect” (Psa 19:7). All of God's decrees are perfect.
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”
(Mt 5:48). Perfect here means complete,
whole, lacking in nothing. Whereas we may look at our own lives or
the lives of people around us and see that they lack a lot (strength,
grace, wisdom, humility, love, gentleness, peace – the list goes on
and on!) NOTHING is missing from God. Think of any good characteristic
and He has it. When John wrote, “There is
no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” (1
Jn 4:18) the perfect love he was referring to was God.
But
our verse above speaks of the way
of the Lord. The Lord's way refers to the way God thinks, moves,
acts, lives and works. It's all about the way He expresses Himself
and interacts with us. This is why this is so important. It's not
only that He himself is perfect but it's about how He relates to us.
We may not understand what is happening, either because it is too
complex for us to work out, or because we can't see the whole picture,
but our call is simply to trust Him, because He IS perfect, He is
working the best for us in it. We may not be able to see that fully
until we get to heaven, but for now we have to learn to accept this
amazing truth. It will transform us!