IF WE ONLY KNEW!

 

 Sunday, November 20, 2022

 

IF WE ONLY KNEW!

 

1 Cor 2:14-16

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

 

          To know the secrets of God is exactly the enticement used by the Serpent in Eden. He promised “ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” The obvious assumption is that, if we know the difference, we will naturally choose the good. The result was the opposite. Man chose evil and has been practicing evil ever since.

 

          My lament, as a retired pastor, is that I might have made better decisions if I had had a better understanding of the facts and circumstances. My desire was to neither be a vigorous prosecutor nor a compassionate defense but a wise judge. I wanted to stoop and write upon the ground while things sorted themselves out. That was the fantasy, but the reality was that I had to make important decisions based on incomplete information, some of which were lies.

 

          Paul’s question is asked again to the Roman church (Romans 8:27 and 11:34). Here we learn that the Holy Spirit prays for us according to the will of God because we do not know what to pray for as we ought. God understands that we do not understand!

 

          If we only knew what God knows we would not resist the plans He has for us. When Peter learned that Jesus was to be crucified, he loudly said: “not so Lord!” Peter could not imagine how the crucifixion might be beneficial. He was sure it was a tragic mistake! Because he did not know – he resisted the very thing that would purchase his redemption.

 

          If we only knew what God knows we would welcome the lion’s den and the fiery furnace because we would see the Lord shut the lions’ mouth and join us in the flames. But we do NOT know and that is what trust is all about. Trust does not need to know all the details of how God will resolve a difficult situation. Trust only needs to know the good nature of God. So, we walk resolutely forward not because we see the way clearly but because we can still see the hem of his garment as He leads.

 

Dear Lord, we still desire to know what you know. We are hardwired by the fall to be stubborn people! But let it be enough to maintain sight of you as you lead us. AMEN