Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? (Lamentations 3:37 NIV).
Isn’t this a comforting thought? When you are faced by words that are spoken by others that trouble your mind, think on this truth. It means that nobody can make anything happen through their words unless God has decreed it.
The prophet here is thinking on the calamities that has come on Jerusalem. He knows that it is not the strength of the invading armies or their proud boasting that had made this conquest possible.
He understands that the foreign armies were able to conquer Jerusalem only because God had determined to hand it over to them. He is able to see the hand of God in their punishment.
They were surely being punished for their sins. He understands that the foreign armies were just a means to bring about what God had already determined to do to Jerusalem.
Another thought concerns daily living and ordinary circumstances of life. Sometimes others pressurize you to do something and counsel you to act in a particular way which they think is right. But you are not sure whether it is God’s time for it or even if it is according to God’s will.
During such times think on this truth that nobody can make things happen unless God has decreed it. Hold on to Him; for in Him you will find strength to believe in His good purposes for your life.
When you have a relationship with God; it is possible to see that other people and circumstances are just servants in the hands of God. If He has decreed they obey. But it is not easy to explain everything that happens in life so simply.
Maybe you need to think of it in this way: No purpose of God can happen in your life by the act of any human agency alone. No man can speak and have it happen in your life; unless the Lord has decreed it.
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