Jessica Albritton, NextGen Minister LHBC
Deuteronomy 29:29
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
I used to love watching the tv docuseries How It Works on the Discovery Channel. In 30 minute segments the show would explain how common, everyday items, such as clothing, accessories, food, industrial products, musical instruments, and sporting goods are manufactured. I could sit and watch it for hours! There have been times in my Christian walk that I wished for a How It Works segment to watch from the Lord, times in life where I had more questions than answers.
There are some things in life that just don’t make sense, things the Bible refers to as hidden or secret. As a follower of Jesus there are some things that we can expect to not have the answers to. A few years back something pretty terrible happened in my personal life and though I did not have a crisis of faith I did get pretty frustrated with God. I was venting to a friend and mentor and made the statement, “I just need to know why… Why did God allow it to happen? I will be able to rest easy if I just know why!” My friend looked at me with all the care and love she could muster and asked me why I needed to know so bad. “If you knew the why would it change the Who?” She was talking about God of course. The question just made me angry at first, who did she think she was asking me that question? Her life wasn’t turned upside down and in shambles like mine was… she couldn’t possibly understand. But she was right and I knew it.
This life is full of mystery, and I’ll be honest, sometimes the secret things of this world make me want to throw my hands in the air in frustration. Reading through the Bible I have come to realize I am not the only one that has had this struggle. In Deuteronomy Moses tells a frustrated Israelite nation that the secret things belong to the Lord. Moses is telling the people that in life they will face times where they don’t understand the why, but the unknown is not meant to frustrate. God doesn’t hide things from us to lead us into despair. The secret things of life should lead us to a deeper faith in Him. Faith bows to the mystery of what God has kept hidden.
The fact is there are things God reveals and there are things He has hidden, things that will remain a mystery as long as we are on this side of heaven. Our responsibility is to believe and receive what things God has revealed, not to sit around and try to figure out all the mysteries that are hidden. God loves us, He has proven that fact over and over. His word tells us that He works all things for the good of those that love Him and His character gives us assurance that we can trust Him at His word. Rest in that today. The question of who God is is so much greater than any whys of this world.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Heavenly Father, you are so good to us even when we don’t see it. Help me to trust in your faithfulness when life throws a curveball. Help me keep my focus on you and not be distracted by the uncertainty and the unknowns. In Jesus name, amen!
MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:
John 3:30
He must increase, but I must decrease.