People are confusing. They break promises, grow, move away, change their opinions—they’re hard to trust sometimes.
But God doesn’t change. He keeps His promises. He’s omnipresent, so He couldn’t move away. He should be easy to trust.
Then why are we often confused by what He’s doing? Life can seem normal until pain arrives and we’re left wondering why God let it come in the door. Even when we see pain in someone else’s life, the same questions haunt us. What is God doing? Did I do something especially bad to deserve this? What if something worse happens?
These questions are hooks that we sink deep within our understanding of God. We are trying to understand Him, yes, but also not to let go of what we already think we know about Him. The trouble with clinging to our old understanding is that we’re blinded to His true nature. We can’t see His endless grace if we’re so focused on what’s in our hands.
If we want to see the true God, we must willingly release our death grip on the boundaries we’ve set for Him. Instead of despairing that our hard-hearted coworker will never surrender to Jesus, we must let our faith soar. When a dear friend makes a painful, foolish choice, we must beg the God of limitless redemption to show her the way back to wisdom.
Drop the box, and the pretension that we can decide how far God is willing to go. Lay down our careful patterns for the Master of the Universe and let Him weave beautiful healing all around us. He’s waiting for us to look up from the bottom of our empty box and see Him, huge and powerful, holding the world up. He knows our tendency to box Him in, and He is ever working to dispel our delusions of control.
Giving in to confusion when God is working is the same as giving up. We are apprenticed in His grace, but we are not masters. His work will go on whether we understand it or not. And because we are still learning grace, He often calls us to trust Him without seeing the end result.
So even if you’re confused about something in your life right now, give it to Him. He is a patient and loving Master, and He will help you trust Him.
How do you react when your boundaries are jostled? Tell me about it in the comments below.
Such good questions , Sheri. I try to remind myself that God is good, all the time, when things don’t go the way I expect. And He constantly astounds me with His grace and mercy in the midst of it!
Thanks, Jeb. Yes, He is so patient with us!
“He’s waiting for us to look up from the bottom of our empty box and see Him, huge and powerful, holding the world up.” I love that picture. Me, a puny human, peering down into the shadowy corners of my box in alarm, looking for Someone who was never there. Crying out in anger, “ Hey! Where did my God go?” I thought I was holding and containing Him, but that could never be. Instead, He’s been the One holding me.
That is a good way to describe it–the anger when God doesn’t appear right where we want Him to be. Thanks for your thoughts, Annalisa!
Very real thots I believe everyone deals with at some point in their life. When I was in the depths of my own confusion and questions I did a thorough study of the book of Job. He asked questions. Lots of hard questions…. but then God also asks him questions, and the end result is that we serve a Great and Mighty God who is above all and Sovereign, even when we don’t understand. But always full of so much love, and kind patience for us to accept His will and rest in His plan for us. Blessings as you and Dan prepare for that lil one! Can’t wait to meet her:)
Yes, Job dealt with a lot of confusion. That’s a good place to look when dealing with questions. Thanks for your thoughts, Lori! We can’t wait to meet our little girl either. 🙂