“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God; but the things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 29:29
To listen to some folks you would think that heaven should offer no surprises, nor provide any new information. I say that because they seem to think that there should be no mysteries— that God should give an explanation along with every experience. Naturally that attitude leads to a lot of complaining.
The longer I live and the more I study God’s Word the more I realize how little I know. The mysteries of life are far too complex for puny man to unravel. God’s thoughts and ways are much different and far higher than ours. Regardless of how educated we are, we know but a thimble full on any given subject. There is much that is unknowable to man—things we cannot possibly understand. When we wade off into the sea of any subject it doesn’t take long before we are in over our heads.
So what’s the point? Well, for one thing, this is something we need to keep in mind when we find ourselves frustrated trying to figure out why certain things happen. We or a loved one gets hurt,sick, or suffers a need and we can’t understand why a good God would allow such a bad thing to happen. Then we get angry, bitter, and depressed. We look to others for answers, but they are as confused as we are. We turn to God and pray for an explanation, but He isn’t talking. And the depression deepens!
What now? Where do we go from here? In the first place we must face the cold hard fact that we can’t know certain things–regardless of how hard we try. Second, contrary to the way we feel, we have no need nor right to know certain things. The secret things belong to God. He has told us all we need to know for the moment. Even if He explained, in our present earthly condition we could not understand. It would be like trying to explain the theory of relativity to a one year old child. Not until the curse is lifted and we are delivered from these mortal bodies and our mind is transformed will we be able to comprehend the mysteries of life. Until then we must simply trust God, knowing He will use even the worst things in life for His glory and our good.
People talk about God being unfair, but it is the accusing of God of wrong doing that is unfair. If you want to complain about something complain about that! Who are we to judge God? We have no right to bring such foolish charges against the Lord (Rom. 9:20).
I know, it’s just natural for us to wonder why, but that doesn’t make it right or helpful. To get beyond the frustration and to be at peace we must get to the place that we leave it all in God’s hands. After all, what else can you do? Trust in God is the only thing that can help. But, you must remember this—you can’t do this by sheer determination or mere will-power. Romans 10:17 says, “–faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. To increase your faith you must increase your knowledge of His Word. Beyond that you must surrender yourself to His will. When we yield ourselves to God He empowers us to do what we could not do otherwise. It is only by being filled with the Spirit that we are enabled to chase our doubts, conquer our depression, change our disposition, cope with our difficulties, and control our desires.
It would be good if we all reached the place described by Tim Hansel, who said,” I have prayed hundreds, if not thousands, of times for the Lord to heal me—-and He finally healed me of the need to be healed.” That’s the kind of faith we all need– confidence that God will always do what is right and best.
