This is hard to understand

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him? For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Romans 11:33–36 (NKJV)

Both/And...

My brothers, we serve a God who is both variable and constant. Our God works in infinitely varied ways but is always constant in who and how He is. Our God has created both the bird that flies and the worm that crawls, but for all eternity—past and future—our God is the constant I AM. We may often be surprised in the way God works, but we can always rest in who He is.

God Knows

I want to be like “the Sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do,” (1 Chron. 12:32) but there are too many times when I’m not; I don’t understand what to do. Yet when I can’t see what God is doing, I strive to cling to a truth that is far easier said than done: God knows what He is doing, and I don’t have to understand it because I don’t rest in my understanding—I rest in HIM.

Rest in Him

I don’t understand why Herod was allowed to execute James, the brother of John, while Peter was freed by an angel. I don’t understand why God loves me when He knows the very worst parts of me. I don’t understand, as one old preacher put it, “how a brown cow can eat green grass and give white milk,” but even though I don’t understand it, I know God does, so I seek to rest in Him.

Paul's Perspective

Romans 11:33-36 ends one of the most thorough examinations of salvation that can be found in Scripture. For most of eleven chapters, the Holy Spirit leads Paul to present the Gospel truths of sin, salvation, faith, grace, and mercy with clear and well-reasoned arguments. Yet, at the end of those chapters, Paul launches into a shout of praise and says,

“Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out.” (Romans 11:33)

Paul, who understood deep spiritual truths of God, knew that he was just playing in the “shallow end” of God’s infinite wisdom and knowledge.

The Tough Truth

My brothers, I do not understand so many things.

I do not understand how a man could stand outside of a Catholic school and shoot children through its windows. I do not understand how a man could stand up on a subway and, in cold blood, stab a defenseless young woman for no apparent reason. I do not understand how a young man could lie down on a roof and assassinate another young man just because he didn’t agree with what he said. Yet the Annunciation Catholic School, Iryna Zarutska, and Charlie Kirk’s names have filled the news.

A "Know So" Faith

I do not understand these things and so many others; that is why I am so thankful, so grateful, for the faith that God places and grows within His people. A faith that isn’t blind. A faith that isn’t a “hope so” but a “know so” faith because that faith is founded on a sure Foundation, a Cornerstone, a Solid Rock that will never move or even shift—Jesus Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

When we don’t understand, we can rest in this:

“For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36)

RALI on, Brothers!

Mike Book

MD5 Facilitator