God Keeps Secrets

God doesn’t tell us everything that’s going on in our lives, which is one of the most frustrating parts of being a Christian.  We want to share in His omniscience, which we feel is deserved since we have an “in” with God.  But God continually reminds us that we will never be on His level.  “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘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 NIV].

Job knows this frustration.  Job didn’t understand God’s unseen plan when he lost all his wealth and children.  He was also covered in sores that were so excruciating that he scraped himself with a piece of broken pottery.  He said, “Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?” [Job 3:23 NIV]. 

God keeps secrets so we can risk putting our faith in Him.  For without faith, it is impossible to please God.  A hero cannot show his bravery without a conflict to overcome; in the same way, a Christian cannot show devotion without following God into the unknown.  We are comfortable saying we are followers of Christ, but once something especially treacherous confronts us, we want to be controllers of Christ—making life turn out in a way that makes sense to us. 

Choosing faith often means waiting on God to move, which we must do in prayer.  Oh, and don’t worry about Job.  God gave him twice as much as he had before.