Lesson 19: Practical Because its Nature is Seen in His Orderly Creation
Genesis 1:31 – “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good…”

By this interest in, and arrangement for, all the details of every individual life, God makes His Will the simplest, the easiest, the most practical law of life. It is within that Will that man, in the best sense of the word, may be natural, true to the possibilities of his own being, unafraid.

There is one other word as to the nature of the Will of God. Not only does it include and condition all that He has created in infinite wisdom, it also manipulates all circumstances. The proof of this is to be found, in the majority of cases, by reflection. Looking back, how marvelous is the design of God’s arrangement! In the midst of the darkness where we thought the light had forever failed, and yet we were but in the lobby of clearer vision. Another day we counted ourselves defeated, but today we see that the defeat was in itself the greatest victory. God's changes run through the years. He is always bringing gold for brass, silver for iron, brass for wood, iron for stones. All contradictory circumstances He presses into the service of progression. It was not idly written in the Song of Solomon, "As the lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women" (Song of Solomon 2:2). The thorn and the lily both live in the same soil, in the same atmosphere. Both receive the same ministry from without, and yet how different the result. To those outside the Will of God, sorrow, trouble, disappointment will come; and the tendency is to harden and embitter our lives.


To those living in the Will of God, the same sorrow, the same trouble, the same disappointment, come; and the effect is that of transformation into new grace, and tenderness, and beauty. Sorrow is a minister, creating character for those who dwell in the Will of God; for such, sorrow is turned into joy. The Will of God, including and conditioning all God has created, and manipulating all circumstances, is a possible and practicable law of life for man.

Every man knows that the sun is the true light, feels it to be such, and without hesitation affirms it to be supreme. There is no debate as to whether the sun or the moon is the light of the world. Imagine a dark night, and an observer who has never seen the sun: a star suddenly shows itself, and the observer hails it with delight; presently the moon shines with all her gentle strength, and the observer says: `This is the fulfilment of the promise; can anything be lovelier, can the sky possibly be brighter?' In due course the sun comes up; every cloud is filled with light; every mountain is crowned with a strange glory; every leaf in the forest is silvered; the sea becomes as burnished glass, and secrecy is chased from the face of the earth: under such a vision, the observer knows that this is the true light, the sovereign, all-dominating flame. It is so in the revelation of Jesus Christ. When the eyes of men are opened to see Him in all His grace and wisdom and sympathy — in all the sufficiency of His sacrifice and the comfort of His Spirit — the heart is satisfied, and every rival light is lost in the infinite splendor of God the Son.

Let's reflect on, even memorize: “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good…” – Genesis 1:31