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RHM Devotional: Understanding God from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

Today I want to talk about understanding God. I believe that this is a crossroads that everyone comes to at some point, and it causes many to stumble. I have seen so many people turn back from their commitment to Jesus because they could not understand what He was doing.

Many of us like to sketch out things like an architect, label it, set boundaries and limits, package it in a box and market it. As humans, we tend to create a “recipe” out of what works for us, and then pass it down to our children. The problem with this is that it often becomes a tradition that gets passed down through the ages, and they may not understand the details of why it worked in the first place.

For example, I once heard a story about a young woman that always cut off the side of a ham before she put it in the oven. One day her husband asked her why she did this, and she said that it was because her mother had always done it this way. That is how she learned to cook a ham. They were curious about it, so she called her mother and asked her why she trimmed the ham that way. Her mother told her that she had a small oven at the time, and that is the only way that the ham would fit inside it. The daughter had been practicing a useless tradition, that her mother never intended.

We can be doing the same type thing without even knowing it unless we keep in step with Him, for He is the Living God. It is OK to not understand Him, and thankfully we don’t have to. We just have to trust Him.

Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea. Job 11:7-9 ESV

We do not, and cannot understand everything that God is, what He is doing, or why He does it. He is the Creator, while we are the created. We cannot make an image of Him; it will only be an idol. We can’t package Him up for He is a living Entity that with a whisper could pack us up in a coffin. He is not domesticated, He is not a pet, and though we love our nativity scenes, Jesus is not a baby. When He returns to Earth, it will be as a reigning King and people’s hearts will fail them because of fear.

I have seen many come to a crossroad in their faith because they could not understand why something was happening in their life, and many times there is just no explanation. It has happened to me.

Sometimes we will not understand what He is doing, and at that point, we just have to trust Him. Those who have been there know that this is not easy to do. Things inside of us want to scream, and sometimes, He will just let you do that without saying a word.

One year our computer business dried completely up. We prayed, and gave, and fasted, and advertised, but things just grew worse. When I would pray and ask Him about it, He wouldn’t say a thing, just silence. It continued until we began packing to move out of our house, but by the end of that week, I was a pastor. His plans are layered, complicated, with many living parts that fit together, but the simple fact is that sometimes He does not tell us why He is doing something.

Isaiah wrote: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8–9 ESV.

The week before He pushed us into ministry, it was the furthest thing from my mind. As Clark W. Griswold told Eddie in “Christmas Vacation”: “If I woke up in the morning with my face sewn to the carpet, I would not be more surprised than I am now.” That is the way that I felt about ministry, but before He opened that door, there was a long dark time when He said nothing at all. He wanted us to trust Him.

Jesus said “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Luke 18:17 ESV). Children are born into the world absolutely, completely, and totally helpless. They totally depend on their parents to take care of them. Children may ask questions that they are not mature enough to know the answer to yet. Every child who is born into the kingdom of God enters it helpless.

If Billy Graham enters the kingdom of God, it will not be because he was a successful preacher. It will not be because he was a good steward, or a faithful husband and father. It will not be because he was a kind, loving man that smiled a lot. When Billy Graham enters the kingdom of God, it will be because he came to Christ as a helpless child who trusted Him.

To sum this up, you don’t need to understand what God is doing in your life today. Just trust that He will do the right thing. That in the end, all things will work out for good. Feel free to tell Him, “Lord I don’t understand whats going on, but I know that somehow You are going to take care of me.” He is the Potter, we are the clay. Let Him carry the burden of how it is going to turn out.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You know all things and nothing is hidden from You. You are the Potter, I am the clay. I choose to trust You with my life. Mold me and make me as You see fit for I am Yours, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

Note: Many thanks to all of you who have walked with us through 2018! Praying that you all have a joyful New Year celebration, and that the Lord leads you into a amazingly blessed 2019!