John Calvin’s favorite Bible verse was Deuteronomy 29:29: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and our children forever.” That truth bothers a lot of people (it used to really bother me), because it means that there are things that God hasn’t revealed to us—things that he might never reveal to us.
Many people simply can’t accept a God that they can’t fully explain. It’s the heart behind most skeptics’ questions: How can there be a God with all the evil in the world? If God is real, what about _____? The questions vary, but the heart is the same: when it comes to God, we often demand explanation.
I used to be the same way. In many ways, I still am. I don’t like the unexplained. But I just can’t ignore how often Scripture shows us that when we demand explanation, God gives revelation.
I came across this recently in—of all places—the birth story of Samson. An angel shows up to Samson’s parents and gives them a prophecy about their son, and Manoah (the dad) asks, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the child’s manner of life, and what is his mission?” and “What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?” Excuse me, Mr. Angel, but maybe you could give a little more detail? An instruction manual, perhaps? Or a series of blog posts you’ve written?
And what does Manoah get? A strange response: “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” Suddenly it’s obvious that we aren’t just dealing with an angel. The Hebrew word for “wonderful” is used a lot in the Old Testament, and it often referred to God. Manoah wants details about what to do; instead he hears God say, “This is who I am.”
If you’re going to make it in the faith, you’ve got to get used to responses like this. God, why did this happen? God, can you guarantee this will work? God, what’s going to happen next? And sometimes God is gracious to show you how he’s working. But more often than not, he simply provides a closer glimpse of who he is. We want explanation; God gives us revelation.
If you require answers to every “why” and “what” question in order to believe, there will always be one more question. I know, because I’m just like this. And when I start to insist on knowing the whys and the whats, God says to me, “Can you see my name? That it is wonderful? Do you trust me enough to follow me?” And instead of getting answers, I’ve had to learn to reflect on the wonderful, majestic name of God.
We serve a God whose power is greater than we can fathom. With a word he brought light out of darkness. I read recently that our sun generates enough energy in one second to supply all of the energy needs in the U.S. for 13 billion years. But God spoke that sun into existence. It wasn’t even hard for him. He didn’t have to break a sweat. Honestly, am I really in a place to question the ways of such a God?
Or I think of his compassion for me, demonstrated at the cross. Here is a God who not only loves me after I rebelled against him, who not only gave me a second chance, but who personally paid the price for my disobedience. As missionary Lesslie Newbigin said, “To create the heavens and the earth costs Him no labour, no anguish; to take away the sin of the world costs Him His own life-blood.”
Can I trust that God with questions I don’t have answers to? With a future that seems uncertain to me? I think so, because I know his name, and it is wonderful. The future is uncertain. But we can trust an uncertain future to a certain God.
We want explanation; God gives us revelation. We want answers; God gives us his presence. We want reasons; God gives us the boundless love of Christ. And in every instance, he is giving us something far sweeter than what we ask for.
For more, be sure to listen to the entire message here.
