08/05/2025
Is what God is doing, or not doing, in your life a frustrating mystery? Do you pray for a certain thing repeatedly, but it just doesn’t seem that you are being heard? How about the troubles in your life? Does God's plan for you regarding them stump or escape you? Well don't feel alone, because many have faced this challenge through the years. Many have asked Him “Why Lord” and “When Lord?” So, let's explore these puzzling spiritual questions today.
“And taking the twelve, he said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise." But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.”
Luke 18:31-34 ESV
Jesus told His disciples about His last days, but when He told them what was about to happen to Him, they didn't understand. As we read His words today, we are able to understand them a little better than they could because we have all of history to help us, but to them this sounded like defeat and was a total mystery. How could an almighty God let such a thing happen to his Son, or whatever was occurring in our lives happen to us?
In the time of Christ, the will of God was totally perplexing to people, and today it can be equally as perplexing to us. We read the scriptures and study them as if there might be a secret key or cypher hidden within them that can unlock the mind of God for us, but all that it really does is show us two things... the first is that we should simply obey Him when He speaks to us, and the second is that we can't possibly understand His mind. At best, we find that we can only glimpse His will for us during moments or times of revelation over the course of our lives. Pastor Oswald Chambers wrote about this as well, and here is what he had to say...
"God called Jesus to what seemed unmitigated disaster. Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death. He led every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. Jesus Christ's life was an absolute failure from every standpoint but God's. But what seemed failure from man's standpoint was a tremendous triumph from God's, because God's purpose is never man's purpose." - Oswald Chambers
My father served in World War II, and during that war there were many battles. For the average soldier it was filled with tragic failures and many lost lives that seemed to be expended needlessly, but then again, the common soldiers weren't privy to the greater picture. They couldn't see the strategy that was unfolding in the larger scheme of things. The sacrifices being made in the foxholes they were in were too far removed from General Eisenhower or Admiral Nimitz's planning table for them to understand the reasoning. All they could do was trust in their wisdom and ability to keep them alive and lead them to victory so that they could return home. This is a miniature example of what is happening concerning God and what is transpiring in our day to day lives.
If the soldier, or sailor, during WWII trusted in their orders, and obeyed them without question, they could continue doing what needed to be done each day, and their minds would remain relatively calm in so doing. If we trust without questioning God, and His love and care for us, then we too will find rest in the troubled times that we face during our own lives. Soldiers often venerated their generals, but we are meant to do far more than that… we are asked to love our God above all else… with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Are we doing this?
When we look at our faith using such a simple real-life illustration it almost becomes something we can grasp. The everyday experiences of cancer, dementia, lost jobs, or failed marriages, that we might be facing become more bearable because we lean on God's goodness and will... and trust in His provision and care. We do this because His Word tells us to do so and because we believe that He is wise beyond comprehension and unable to lie... He is free of all sin. If we can't believe these things then there is only chaos and heartbreak in our lives.
If the soldiers had believed that their generals were liars in the 1940s then WWII would have been, as many news reporters today would have us believe of all wars, without purpose, direction, or overarching moral good. This is true of our faith as well. If there is no underlying and immovable good in God and creation, then there is nothing in life worth fighting for, nothing worth praying for, and no Savior or God who will stand against the chaos of the world and for the good in humanity. If we have no faith in God then evil will win, Satan will have succeeded, and chaos will reign supreme over all the universe. Is this the strategy that Satan is employing against us today as he attempts to convince us that God doesn’t exist, or that He isn’t who He says He is? .... Well, that is a deeper question for another day, but it is rather fundamental, isn’t it?
So, first and foremost, we must believe that God exists, then that He loves us, is good, doesn't lie, and that His will is beyond our ability to understand as we sit here in our foxholes of life. Then, once we believe this, we can trust Him and know that what transpires is always good, and always within His will for us and the remainder of His creation.
Let's break this down a bit more... We know one thing is for certain and that is this... we will die. So, when that happens will it occur in such a way that we, and everyone in our lives, will think it was a good thing and within the will of a merciful God? How can this thing, that we call believing, and which we grasp as absolute truth, occur in such a way that others will not question God? Do you see the harm in not believing? If we can't trust God in death, which we admit is certain and undeniable, then how can we trust Him in the less certain things of our lives?
The answer to the mystery of God and the enigma of life is faith, believing in what we cannot see, and this is why God chose to give each of us a seed of faith at birth. This is what will inevitably separate the righteous from the unbelievers. Our salvation and ability to trust that God's plan for us is true and good always boils down to that one simple sounding five letter word... faith. Do we cultivate it within ourselves? Do we have faith? Are we employing it in every aspect of our lives… using it against every trouble we face… And find comfort in it during the heartbreaks and losses we experience? Let’s thank God for this tiny seed… this five-letter word… for our faith.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the measure of faith you have given me. Thank you for your goodness, truth, and perfection. Holy Father, I ask that you bolster the faith I contain that allows me to see your will and purpose in every aspect of my life. Father, help me as I seek to understand your desire and mind which is so far beyond my ability to grasp. As you allow me to see and understand this tiny glimmer of your purpose it helps me through my tough spots, and increases me in my belief and faith all the more. For all those other times when you remain a mystery to me, and your will is just beyond my grasp and ability to fathom, I ask that you strengthen me all the more in my faith. Lord, you promised not to tempt me beyond what I am able to resist, and so I ask that as I approach the limits of my faith that you will likewise increase me in my faith too. In this way I can stave off the world’s temptation through your Word and accept your escape. Through my belief in Jesus and faith in you I will praise you, and trust you in all things, I will love you and celebrate my faith in you forevermore. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who was, and is, and is to come. Holy are you in whom my faith abounds and love finds its rest.
Amen!
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV
Rich Forbes