While in elementary school my son Erick became known for his inquisitive mind. Like most boys, he wanted to know how things were put together and why they worked the way they did. The objects most prone to his curiosity were his bicycles, which he took apart and reassembled quite frequently. His greatest accomplishment was building his own working flashlight without the aid of a kit. It’s not surprising to me that he is still mechanically inclined and can fix anything he wants to! Erick’s quest to figure out how machines work is not much different than the motivation that drove men to look through telescopes and microscopes. It is our natural tendency to want to know why things are the way they are. We even attempt to seek these answers in our faith. We want to know why God is the way He is and why life is the way that it is.
However, there are some “things” about God that we cannot, nor will we ever be able to explain. Most of the time we are not bothered by this but whenever our lives seem to go awry, this becomes an issue. When life is good, it’s fine for God to be mysterious. But when life’s a mess, we want Him to be an open book. Unfortunately God doesn’t work that way! This was the dilemma that Job found himself in. Life had become unexplainable. Job’s “complaint” was that his condition was confusing. He’d done all the right things and was suffering miserably. What was God doing? (Job 23:1-7) Job’s struggle is a major theme which also runs through much of the Psalms (Ps. 60), Proverbs (Pr. 13:23) and Ecclesiastes (Ecc. 4:1-3) as well. God is often unexplainable because He is infinite. He has no limitations, no boundaries, and earthly no limitations. This is alien to people who struggle daily with faulty and earthbound flesh. We expect life to follow a set pattern. We expect God to behave in certain ways. We feel that bad things shouldn’t happen to good people and are shocked when they do. Yet, as Job eventually came to realize, we must come to allow God to be greater than our expectations and accept the unknown reasons for the events which happen in our lives (Job 42:1-6). We may think the answer to the question to “Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?” (Job 11:7) is “No!” But, there is a part of God that can be known.
Consider this verse: No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is at the Father’s side, He has explained Him. (Jn 1:18). Jesus offers an explanation of the limitless boundaries of God’s love through the Incarnation (Rom. 1:3-4). God took on the limitations of human flesh (Jn. 1:14). Even this incredible act of love defies explanation. And yet, it is a reality (Col. 1:19). I think in many Christian circles today there is a tendency to familiarize ourselves with Christ so much that we forget the unexplainable nature of Who He is. As we have sought to order our lives so that nothing happens unexpectedly, we order Christ so that He fits our humanness, forgetting He is also the mysterious, unknown God (Lk. 8:22-25) who brought Job through His trial and never really told Job why.
Have there ever been events in your life that defy reasoning? Are there loose ends you wish you could tie up, but are not able to? Is there a sickness you can’t overcome, a loss that seems bound to haunt you forever? Have you sought an answer to these struggles, felt God is hearing, but have seen no results and been puzzled by the outcome? Job never knew of the scene in God’s courtroom that initiated his turmoil and struggle (Job 1-2). Job never received any help from his “friends” who came to “console” him. But Job did encounter God in his day of struggle. And he came into a new awareness of the magnitude of the God he was faithful to. Perhaps the unknown events in your life are there to help you know God more by looking at the part of Him that can be explained in Jesus Christ. The Bible observes that there is a tension between the known and the unknown that is present in the life of faith. For those who learn to walk in faith through their trials, there awaits an encounter with the Almighty that will change their perspective of Him forever (Ps. 18). This was Job’s experience, it could be yours too (Is. 55:6-12).
Ann LeFevre, M. Div.
https://www.annhlefevre.com; Olivetreeann@mail.com; https://www.linkedin.com/in/annhlefevre; https://www.facebook.com/ann.h.lefevre
However, there are some “things” about God that we cannot, nor will we ever be able to explain. Most of the time we are not bothered by this but whenever our lives seem to go awry, this becomes an issue. When life is good, it’s fine for God to be mysterious. But when life’s a mess, we want Him to be an open book. Unfortunately God doesn’t work that way! This was the dilemma that Job found himself in. Life had become unexplainable. Job’s “complaint” was that his condition was confusing. He’d done all the right things and was suffering miserably. What was God doing? (Job 23:1-7) Job’s struggle is a major theme which also runs through much of the Psalms (Ps. 60), Proverbs (Pr. 13:23) and Ecclesiastes (Ecc. 4:1-3) as well. God is often unexplainable because He is infinite. He has no limitations, no boundaries, and earthly no limitations. This is alien to people who struggle daily with faulty and earthbound flesh. We expect life to follow a set pattern. We expect God to behave in certain ways. We feel that bad things shouldn’t happen to good people and are shocked when they do. Yet, as Job eventually came to realize, we must come to allow God to be greater than our expectations and accept the unknown reasons for the events which happen in our lives (Job 42:1-6). We may think the answer to the question to “Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?” (Job 11:7) is “No!” But, there is a part of God that can be known.
Consider this verse: No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is at the Father’s side, He has explained Him. (Jn 1:18). Jesus offers an explanation of the limitless boundaries of God’s love through the Incarnation (Rom. 1:3-4). God took on the limitations of human flesh (Jn. 1:14). Even this incredible act of love defies explanation. And yet, it is a reality (Col. 1:19). I think in many Christian circles today there is a tendency to familiarize ourselves with Christ so much that we forget the unexplainable nature of Who He is. As we have sought to order our lives so that nothing happens unexpectedly, we order Christ so that He fits our humanness, forgetting He is also the mysterious, unknown God (Lk. 8:22-25) who brought Job through His trial and never really told Job why.
Have there ever been events in your life that defy reasoning? Are there loose ends you wish you could tie up, but are not able to? Is there a sickness you can’t overcome, a loss that seems bound to haunt you forever? Have you sought an answer to these struggles, felt God is hearing, but have seen no results and been puzzled by the outcome? Job never knew of the scene in God’s courtroom that initiated his turmoil and struggle (Job 1-2). Job never received any help from his “friends” who came to “console” him. But Job did encounter God in his day of struggle. And he came into a new awareness of the magnitude of the God he was faithful to. Perhaps the unknown events in your life are there to help you know God more by looking at the part of Him that can be explained in Jesus Christ. The Bible observes that there is a tension between the known and the unknown that is present in the life of faith. For those who learn to walk in faith through their trials, there awaits an encounter with the Almighty that will change their perspective of Him forever (Ps. 18). This was Job’s experience, it could be yours too (Is. 55:6-12).
Ann LeFevre, M. Div.
https://www.annhlefevre.com; Olivetreeann@mail.com; https://www.linkedin.com/in/annhlefevre; https://www.facebook.com/ann.h.lefevre
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