“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, so that we may do according to all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29).
Not every question we ask or want answered will be answered. It is audacity to think that God has to provide information on every question we ask, and we need to be very cautious in issuing subpoenas to the ruler of the universe. In particular, questions about why things are the way they are and questions about what is going to happen There are often questions that, from their perspective, we would be better off not knowing about. We may think we need to know and may even ask in our prayers, but questions are still met with silence. About many things, God’s Word says just that. . . Nothing.
Do you remember the freedom with which you asked questions as a child, and the firmness with which your parents often had to say that certain questions were not ones they thought wise to answer? The eagerness with which children ask questions is not a fault. Indeed, this is refreshing, and God must certainly look upon this aspect of our childishness with paternal love. But we must be careful not to push childish curiosity about the past into the realm of disrespectful insistence and demand. We must be willing for Him to correct our ideas about what is important for us to know.
Moses said to Israel, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, so that we may do all the words of this law.” Accepting God’s judgment regarding “secret things” requires faith, and it also requires courage, because it is often frightening to leave without knowledge the information we deem essential to our survival. Yet if we trust Him, we will do it. When we don’t have all the information we want, we must be satisfied with having it. He is everything we should have.
What God says is important. But what he doesn’t say is also important and if we respect his statements then we should respect his silence too. In fact, it is probably true that our foolish fascination with certain unanswered questions is a result of our failure to be nourished by revealed truths. If we will digest this, what God has already said will more than meet our needs.
“He who has heard the word of God can endure its silence” (Ignatius of Loyola).
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com
