Convergence. It’s always been the case that God asks His people to trust Him above and beyond their present circumstances. Convergence is a way to describe how God weaves our circumstances into the fabric of His divine plans.

little “r” / big “R”
Scripture’s narratives repeatedly underscore how trusting God is the only thing that ultimately makes sense because in these narratives, and in the narratives of our lives, God converges His ultimate, determinative Reality with our limited, contingent reality. Interestingly, God never says that our “little r” realities aren’t real or consequential, but rather that His “big R” Reality will always and unfailingly prevail.

Accomplishing God’s Intentions
In Joseph’s life he was sold into slavery by his brothers, but in the convergence of God’s plan, God accomplished good through what was evil. In the reality of Jesus’ unjust trial and execution we learn the Reality of the cross, the event in time where God’s forgiveness and love for sinners converged with His righteous wrath upon sin to become the judicial basis of our forgiveness. In the many micro-realities of Israel’s history is a record of continual fails and falls, yet in the grand Reality we find these many tragic events cannot undo God’s promise to Abraham (see Deuteronomy 9).

Saints through the ages and to this day have lost their lives for their faith in Jesus, but in God’s Reality they will rise from the dead because Jesus conquered death and promised to raise those to life who believe in Him. Our limited, contingent realities exist with consequences, yet they all converge with God’s Reality to accomplish God’s intentions – good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28), and wrath to those who reject Him. My prayer is that as God’s people, we will trust God to hold the tension of our realities with an eye to God’s ultimate, unfailing Reality contained in His promises to us.

Maridus Kinder

photo credit: Alison J-B 
photo license: Creative Commons 2.0