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Welcome to Romans chapter 11 in Daily Drive Time Devotions. We're in day five of
our look at this great chapter. As we walk through this chapter, we have seen
some keys to understanding how God works in human history.

These are things you can count on. It doesn't tell you the details of what will
happen, but it does give you the broad sweep of how God is at work. We've seen
together that God has a plan, and His plan is to be faithful.

You can count on that in His work in history. We've seen together that the first
fruits of a doe or the root of a tree indicate what's going to continue to
happen in that tree. So the way something starts indicates the way that it's
going to begin.

That's the way that God always works. That's an indication of how God's going to
work in human history. You can't have a bad start and get a good result, but
when you have the good, faithful start, it's going to bear fruit all throughout
history.

We saw in our study yesterday that the gifts and the calling of God are
irrevocable. We didn't focus much on those verses, but they're another principle
in human history. When God gives gifts, when God gives a call, He doesn't take
it back.

And so He's going to continue to work based on the gifts and calling that He's
given to His people. And we saw yesterday that God is bound all to disobedience,
so that all would realize that they need to be saved. These are just broad,
sweeping ways that we can see God working in history.

As you reach verses 33 to 36, the question is, what should our response be? In
fact, the question in these verses is, what should our response be to all of
these chapters we've just looked at, Romans 9, 10, and 11? What should our
response to God's sovereignty be?

Should it be confusion? I just can't understand it. I can't figure this thing
out.

It's bigger than me, and I just don't know how to come to grips with this.
Should it be anger? I refuse to trust a God who won't explain it to me the way
that I would like.

Should it be denial? You think, could we just skip next time straight from
Romans chapter 8 to Romans chapter 12 and just sort of leave this out? Paul says
it should be none of those things, obviously.

He says it should be, our response to God's sovereignty should be to remember
the riches of God, the greatness of God. Let me read these verses, Romans 11,
verses 33 to 36. "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God,
how unsearchable his judgments and his paths beyond tracing out.

Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who's been his counselor? Who's ever given
to God that God should repay him?

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory
forever. " Amen.

Probably the greatest protection against pride is remembering the ultimate
greatness of God. If you're in a corn field and there's one stalk of corn that's
a little bit taller than the others, that stalk of corn could feel like, wow,
look at what I am. But what if you put a redwood tree right in the middle of a
corn patch?

That would sort of bring everything into perspective, wouldn't it? God's the
redwood tree in the middle of human history. And these verses remind us of six
incomprehensible, inexhaustible, incalculable riches of God.

They talk about the wisdom of God, the knowledge of God, the judgments of God,
the paths of God, the mind of God, and the gifts of God. Again, wisdom,
knowledge, judgments, paths, mind, and gifts. Let's take a moment to focus on
those six things in a personal way.

What should our response to God's sovereignty be? Praise for his greatness, his
riches. So as you praise him for his riches, praise him for his wisdom.

You might even say to him in prayer right now, "God, you understand life better
than I do, and I praise you for your wisdom that is above mine. " Praise God
also for his knowledge. God's wisdom is his understanding of life, of the
principles of how to live the life that he's made us to live.

His knowledge is that he knows everything. Say to him, "God, you just know
things that I don't know, things that I never will know. Even if I watched the
Discovery Channel 24 hours a day, I'd never know all that you know.

Thanks for your knowledge. I can lean on and depend on. " These verses remind us
to be grateful for God's judgments.

His judgments are unsearchable. God, I don't always understand your judgments,
but I trust. I trust that your judgments are always fair.

Mine aren't because I don't see everything. Sometimes even when I try to be
fair, I'm not fair because I don't understand the situation. But God, your
judgments, they're always fair.

Sometimes they're unsearchable to me. I don't understand them, but I trust them.
The fourth thing here is God's paths, his ways.

Paul reminds us that they are beyond tracing. You might say to God, "God, I
don't have to be able to graph your plan in order to trust your plan. I'm
grateful.

I am grateful that you have a plan for human history that's greater than my
understanding. " How sad would it be if we could totally understand the plan of
God for human history? That'd be a pretty pitiful, pretty puny plan.

God's plan is greater. They're beyond tracing, but they're always right. And
Paul also says, "Thank God for his mind.

" Who's known the mind of the Lord who's been his counselor? God, your thoughts
are above my thoughts. Your ways are above my ways.

Think of the intellect of God. Think of what he knows, what he could teach, what
he does teach us. And then finally, he is grateful as he talks about the riches
of God for the gifts of God.

Who has ever given to God that God should repay him? Sometimes it's good to pray
a prayer or something like this. God, forgive me.

Forgive me for those times when I think that you owe me something. Something
God, because I have given my trust to you. The truth is, the trust that I have
in you, that's a gift from you too, just like everything else in my life.

God, you don't owe me anything. I owe you everything. Thank you for all you've
given to me.

Even though I owe you everything, you continue to give to me. I am grateful. And
then Paul says, "In light of the wisdom and knowledge and judgments and paths
and mind and gifts of God, in light of all those, from him and through him and
to him are all things.

" You could spend the rest of your life studying just that one sentence. From
God is everything. It all springs from him.

He is the source of everything. Through God is everything. Not only did he
create it all, he also gives it to us, personally, individually.

And then to him are all things. History has a direction. History is headed
somewhere.

History has an end. This idea that there's just sort of a circle of life, and
you circle around and around. We don't really know where we're going, and we
keep coming back to the same place again.

That is not the Bible's idea of history. The Bible's idea of history is that it
has a definite direction and destination. You know what that destination is?

To him be the glory forever. The last phrase in this chapter, amen. So be it.

To him be the glory forever. The destination of human history is God's glory.
That's the way God made it to be.

God is the originator of all things. All things come from him. He is the
sustainer of all things.

All things depend on him. As C. S.

Lewis put it, to argue with God is to argue with the very power that makes it
possible to argue at all. It's all from him, and it's all to him. Let me read
you a letter from someone that I asked to read, Romans chapter 11.

And just give me their response to this chapter. They wrote, "Whenever I read
about God's hardening or softening of hearts and the futility of works alone as
a means of salvation, I am sincerely humbled. It reminds me that God is in
control and has the power to decide my destiny and is ultimately out of my
hands.

I often get frustrated with people who don't believe what I do. Even though I
know it's wrong, I also sometimes catch myself thinking that somehow I'm a
little better because I figured it all out and they didn't. It is so easy to
become judgmental, especially with something you believe so passionately.

The verse is about the remnant existing solely by God's grace. And God's ability
to cut and/or graft branches to the tree are a good reminder that I am nothing
in and of myself. I am in no way in a better position than anyone else solely
through my own actions.

It's only through God's grace. I cannot take any credit for that, but can only
praise God. I think Christians need to be reminded of that every so often,
especially working with those who are not Christians, Christians who maybe have
a different viewpoint or anyone who has made a mistake.

That note resonated with me. I think it might with you too. It is easy to become
judgmental, but it's also joyous to rely on, to lean on God's grace.

And this chapter, Romans chapter 11, is a reminder of the fact that God is in
control, that God works in our lives through his grace, and that history has a
destination, the glory of God. Let's take a moment to talk to him. God, I thank
you that you are in control.

I recognize you as the one who is in control of history. I can trust you. I
praise you as the one who is in control of nations.

I can rely on you. I thank you for the one who is in control of my family, even
when things seem crazy. We can count on you.

And God, I thank you that you're in control of the events of my own life. I need
you. I pray that I would see that you work in my life, in my family's life, in
our nation's life, in the life of nations.

You work through grace. Help me to stop trying to earn your grace, and help me
this day to enjoy your grace. And God, I recognize in this moment where history
is headed, is headed towards your glory.

To him be the glory forever, and if that is where history is headed someday,
that is the way I want to live today. Help me to live for your glory. Help me to
live to honor you.

I need your strength to do that. I can't do it on my own. And I ask for that
strength today, one day at a time, in Jesus' name, amen.

Well be sure to join us next week as we take a look together at Romans chapter
12. I know for some of you that's the chapter you have been looking forward to.
In fact, I plan to have a special guest join us for part of the study this next
week.

So don't miss this great study of Romans chapter 12.