The Works of God

I spent a wonderful two hours with the first-year students in the Bethlehem Seminary on Wednesday.  Yes, I was talking about disability and some of the hards things associated with it.

And also about God’s word.  I love how the Bible is full of God’s pointing us to his glory through disability!  It was easy to share that part of the story with them.  I hoped to encourage them that people like us, in the pews, can love the word and what it teaches us about our God.

I almost began to cry, somewhere in the middle of my time with them, at the goodness of God in providing these men, most of them young men in their 20’s, who are earnestly seeking God – with head and heart – for the purpose of proclaiming his glory.

These men are preparing to stand in the gap for me and for you – against a culture that prizes comfort and hates those with disabilities, against theologians and ‘teachers’ who seek to strip the word of its meaning and undermine God’s sovereignty, against even the evil in my own heart.

They are preparing themselves to tell the truth about God.  It is God’s sovereignty over all things, including disease and disability, that provides the ultimate hope and access to joy.

It was a privilege to be in their presence and imagine what God might be preparing them to do, for his glory and for our good.  Please pray for Bethlehem College and Seminary students.  The future of the church will be in their hands, and I look forward to watching what God has in store to make his name great through them.