I was again listening to Alistair Begg. He mentioned the mat that Jesus was sleeping on in the storm. Then he mentioned that the disciples asked if He was worried about whether they would perish. Begg followed his thought, my mind took a tangent.
They never got an answer. Jesus did respond. He did wake up and calm the storm. But He never answered the question they asked.
There is a lesson for us in that. It is very possible, in fact probable, that God will not answer all of our questions. That doesn’t mean there are no answers.
It could be that there are lessons that can be learned better without the answers. Sometimes in life it is more important knowing what the questions are than knowing the answers. Sometimes the unknown causes us to think more and reach into our creativity. God knows us better than we know ourselves.
Maybe we would not be able to understand. We all have different abilities and levels of understanding so what might be an answer for some would just be nonsense to others. Sometimes there are situations that are more subtle than we can handle. God knows us better than we know ourselves.
Some might not want to hear the answers. I am not sure that God wastes the effort in answering questions that are asked from hardened hearts. When a child first asks, “Why?” I am glad to answer. When my answer generates another, “Why?” I begin to look for attitude. There comes a point where I don’t bother. At school I put up a poster with three numbers with a short message. “No” is number 1. “When pigs fly” is number 2. “Right after Danny” is number 3. (Danny never goes). Number four is “BISS” which stands for “Because I said so.” At times that is the best, and only, answer. God knows us better than we know ourselves.
We might not be able to handle the answers. Who really wants to know the moment of their death? Maybe the job interview will end in rejection but you had a lesson that needed learning. There are many things that we might want to know and be able to understand but we could not deal with them in real life. God knows us better than we know ourselves.
We might be accountable for the information. Once you know the right thing to do, you are responsible. We might not yet have the strength to respond properly. It is better to not know. God knows us better than we know ourselves.
So keep asking. Keep reading. Keep studying. Keep growing. Also understand that if you eat some food before it is ripe you will get sick. If you eat some food without the proper preparation you will be poisoned. If you mix the wrong chemicals it can lead to disaster.
Ask in faith. Walk in faith. God knows us better than we know ourselves.
homo unius libri
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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.