God’s Not Running A Lemonade Stand

God does not need backup plans, because His plan always comes to pass.   ~~~   1 Samuel 16:1 “The LORD said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, go to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king from among his sons.’” God does not say, “I see a promising up and comer. I have found a man that has great potential. Let’s go check him out further. Put him through the vetting process and let’s see what shakes out.” Those are not at all the instructions. This is not a suggestion. This is not to be seen as a great possibility. No. The text tells us that God has provided for himself a King. Make preparations to anoint a new king, Samuel, because I have already provided for myself a king.” The language of the text leads us to this point of providence. “I have provided for myself…” In other words, I chose Bethlehem, I chose Jesse, I chose this particular person. I made the arrangements, I orchestrated the events and times and places to fulfill my will. What we learn from 1 Samuel 16 is that God is not rushing around heaven trying to make lemonade out of lemons. We learn that God doesn’t resort to a plan B or plan C. This is not a game of chess where He is waiting on your next move, or Satan’s next move, before He decides what He will do. He doesn’t have pitchers in the bullpen in case different or unknown scenarios come up. God pushes and pulls history and reality along as He ordains, for His glory and the believers’ good. God keeps, cooperates with, and governs all created things to fulfill and accomplish His purposes. This does not mean that God does evil. It does mean that evil is not outside His preservation or governance.