THE NON-ANXIOUS PRESENCE 5*

But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman . . . (Galatians 4:4).

God is the ultimate non-anxious presence. From the first promise of a Savior, as announced in Genesis 3:15, until the birth of Jesus was no less than four thousand years. Over those many years there were countless prayers for God's intervention to deal with the problems of his people. In some cases he did intervene in miraculous fashion, but always intervening according to his covenants. It is according to his purposes that God intervenes in the lives of humanity--he is not emotionally driven to do something because someone might not believe in him. The Bible very clearly says that God had a plan for us, before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Before the creation, God had a plan for those whom he would create, so when the time was right, he sent forth his Son.

God does not use quick fixes to meet our whims and make us feel better. God takes the long view toward bringing about healing. God does not ordinarily "zap" us with a cure. He is willing to spend what ever it takes to bring about true healing for us. God will not give to us that which costs him nothing. The great salvation that we enjoy was bought and paid for by our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh how we have been blessed by God's non-anxious presence!!!

Grace&Peace,
Tom

*Revised from a previous post and, thank God, the last in the series!