Faith and Awe in the Wisdom of God
Romans 11:33–36 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! (34) Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? (35) Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? (36) For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
In a wake service I attended recently the choir of the church offered a song titled “Trust His heart”, one of my favorite songs when I was growing up as a believer in Christ. The chorus summarizes the theme of the song: “God is too wise to be mistaken, God is too good to be unkind. So when you don’t understand, when you can’t see His plan, when you can’t trace His hand…trust His heart”.
A timely song during a time when you lose a loved one. In the midst of sorrow and grief how important it is for us to know that in the wisdom and love of God He believed that it was time for His child to go home to where God purposed he or she should be. “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” Psalms 116:15.
But trusting in God’s heart, in His wisdom and love for us, also applies to so many other circumstances that come upon us, circumstances that move us to wonder why our God is allowing them to happen, yes even to the point of questioning Him.
As we grow as Christians, as the Holy Spirit continues to work in our hearts, He continuously reveals to us the truth of God’s word, revealing to us who our God is, and giving us glimpses of His wisdom and love.
But there may be circumstances that will come to our lives which will make us ask questions like — Why this circumstance? Why now? Why me?
The reason we lose faith, and begin to question God, is because we think that His ways are our ways, that His wisdom is the same as man’s wisdom. We tend to think that our understanding of what is wise, what is good, and what is right for us is also how God should understand things. And when His judgments differ from ours we question them.
But our ways are not His ways, and our man’s wisdom is nothing in comparison to the wisdom of a sovereign God. Our concept of a “blessed” life, of what is good or not good for us, is all tainted by the sinfulness and selfishness of our heart. We wonder why God is not blessing us like the people of the world who are filthy rich, why we don’t have as much material things as others, because we cannot see the blessings of the Lord when our hearts full of discontentment.
We question hardships and trials because we don’t believe they are good for us — for our bodies, our families or our future. Again, what we believe are blessings, what is good for us, may not be the same as that of a wise and loving God. We forget, or realize, that our God has a different priority for us. This is summarized in three major chapters in the New Testament — Romans 5, 1 Peter 1 and James 1. God prioritizes our faith, our inner man, our being conformed to the image of His Son, our Lord.
For us to walk by faith we need to admit that the ways of God, His wisdom and love, are so opposite that of the human understanding, that they cannot be comprehended by our minds. They can only be understood as we come to a knowledge of who God is. And this begins in our standing in awe of the vast difference between God’s wisdom and man’s wisdom. Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
We bow in worship and submission, realizing that we have no understanding whatsoever of His mind, and realizing we have no capacity whatsoever to give Him counsel concerning our circumstances. (34) Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?
We approach Him in humility, realizing that we are not entitled, or deserving, of any explanation of why and what He is working in our lives. (35) Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?
We trust in the sovereignty of God over our lives, knowing that everything that He does in our lives, being His children, are all for His glory. (36) For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
With these attitudes as our foundation our hearts are now open to grow in our understanding of who our God is, and as He reveals to us His wisdom and love through the Spirit opening the eyes of our hearts through His Word.
So if you don’t understand, if you can’t see His plan, if you can’t trace His hand…trust His heart. It is a heart of wisdom and love that surpasses all human understanding, but fills our heart through the Spirit.