It is in the combination of these three things that God is doing the very best for His own.
Wisdom and Power are God’s attributes. Love is His nature, His being, Himself, so we put Love between Wisdom and Power in our title.
Wisdom is the right use of knowledge in relation to practical affairs.
“Wisdom is better than strength” (Ecc. 9:16).
“Wisdom is better than weapons of war” (Ecc. 9:18).
How superlative is God’s wisdom. How abundantly this is shown in the wonderful arrangement of creation. Still more is it seen in the wonderful redemptive scheme, where Christ is made to us “Wisdom.”
Love is God’s very nature. “God is love” (1 John 4:16). What rest of heart it is to know this, to trust One who is unaffected by selfishness, partiality, or caprice of any kind.
Power is a terrible thing in the hands of any not governed by Love and Wisdom, but in the right hands it is a guarantee of right upheld. In God’s hands power can only be for good.
The right combination of these three things can be well illustrated by homely life.
Power. A small boy runs up to his mother carrying in his hand his boots. The soles are completely worn and the uppers are worthless. He says, “Mother, buy me a new pair of boots.” With tears she says, “My boy, I love you dearly, and you know I would get you boots if I could. It is not within my power to get them for you.“
Here is love undoubted. The need is obvious. The power is lacking.
On the other hand, here is a rich father and he has an only child. He has love and power. All that the child asks for he gets. He is denied nothing. Whether it is wise or not to grant his requests nothing is denied him. He grows up selfish, petulant and thoroughly spoilt. The father had love and power, but he lacked wisdom.
Such illustrations abound on every hand.
How comforting to turn from incongruities and imperfections to God.
With Him is all perfection. He is the “Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).
His love is undeniable—love, full and absolute; His wisdom is perfect, He makes no mistakes; His power can effect anything His love and wisdom direct.
Can we trust Him? This is a serious question. We trust Him generally and in ordinary trials, but we are tested when extraordinary trials come.
The last four years have been full of sorrow on land and sea. Hearts have been wrung as never before.
Even old and well-established Christians when extra crushing trials come ask in their hearts, if not by their lips, Does God care? He does; a thousand times over we affirm it.
Shall Job, with his limited opportunities of knowledge compared to ours, put us to shame? He could say, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him” (Job 13:15). Shall the three Hebrew youths put us to shame? When they were threatened with the burning fiery furnace, what did these noble fellows say? They affirmed that God was able to deliver them, but that if He should see fit in His wisdom not to do so, yet they would go forward in the path that had for its terminus the awful furnace heated seven times.
There is one charming word that settles everything for the Christian.
“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things” (Rom. 8:32).
And again:
“We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28).
The Christian is called according to the loving purpose of God. Christ has died for him. In the light of all this can we doubt God’s wisdom, love and power?
“As for God, His way is perfect” (Ps. 18:30).
Let us trust Him at all times and never let us for one moment allow an unworthy suspicion of God’s goodness. Indeed, could we see things as He does we should order things as He does. We shall yet praise Him for all His ways.