Not His Ways

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares Yahweh.

Isaiah 55:8

In the story of Jacob and Esau we get a clear picture of how different God’s ways are from our ways. If Hollywood were making a secular version of the story of the two brothers, Esau would be the hero, and Jacob and his mother would be considered the villains. Esau is strong, straightforward, and honorable. Jacob appears sneaky, manipulative, and undeserving. By human standards, the wrong man seems to win.

Yet Scripture reminds us that God does not operate by human logic. “The Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). What looks unjust to us is often God accomplishing a deeper purpose that we cannot yet see.

Paul echoes this truth when he writes, “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27). Jacob’s story is not about rewarding deception—it is about God advancing His covenant promises through grace rather than human merit. If salvation were based on who “deserved it,” none of us would stand. “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy” (Romans 9:16).

That’s what makes God’s ways so unsettling—and so hopeful. He works through broken people, messy families, and imperfect motives to bring about perfect purposes. What feels unfair in the moment often becomes evidence later of His sovereign wisdom. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!” (Romans 11:33).

So when life doesn’t follow the script we expect—when the “wrong” person seems to get ahead, when obedience doesn’t bring immediate reward, when God’s plan feels upside down—we remember Isaiah’s words: His ways are not ours. And thank God they aren’t. If they were, grace would disappear, mercy would shrink, and hope would fade. So today, Christian, trust the God whose ways are higher, whose plans are wiser, and whose grace reaches farther than anything we could design on our own.

Your Shepherd,

Pastor Mark