"He can be trusted in everything."

For the Lord will rise up...
to do his deed--strange is his deed!
and to work his work--alien is his work!

...Does he who plows for sowing plow continually?
Does he continually open and harrow his ground?
When he has leveled its surface,
does he not scatter dill, sow cumin
and put wheat in rows...?

...Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,
but dill is beaten out with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
Does one crush grain for bread?
No, he does not thresh it forever;
when he drives his cart wheel over it
with his horses, he does not crush it.
This also comes from the Lord of hosts;
he is wonderful in counsel
and excellent in wisdom.
Isaiah 28:21, 24-25, 27-29

I read these words during my time with God this morning, followed by this note in the ESV Study Bible:

"God's dealings with his people, though 'strange,' are wise. Like a farmer, God knows that the upheaval of plowing has its appointed season and purpose, and that the refining of harvested grain must take into account the desired outcome. Even so, God uses all the methods of perfect wisdom in working with his people. He can be trusted in everything."

As I look around at the lives of friends and family members, I often consider the varied trials and tests that God has brought them. I often wonder why He sees fit to use such very different means in different lives. Why does one woman have such severe sickness during her pregnancy? Why do some couples wrestle through such deep struggles in their marriages? Why did that family lose a child? Why such extended, repeated trials in that person's journey? Why this season of difficulty for these individuals? And why the particular challenges, and not others, that God chooses for me?

The passage above so comforted me with the realities of God's perfect wisdom and knowledge. He created each life. He knows the purposes for which he made it. He understands the best way to bring His will to pass. He's a wise farmer who knows how to obtain a good harvest from every crop he plants. And in his love, he does nothing needlessly. Every single action He takes has its good purpose and perfect time.

In short, as the study note says, "he can be trusted in everything."

Dear Father, help me to trust you even as I observe and participate in your works that seem strange, alien and mysterious. And bring us quickly to the day when the harvest will be complete and all good fruit revealed at last.