I Simply Don't Know

Psalm 91 is a powerful chapter promising protection by God in the most distressing of situations.  As you read it you will either be challenged to a higher place of faith or  moved to contemplation and possibly perplexity.  As a young Christian I watched and listened to preachers challenge the hearers to believe God for the impossible in the natural.  The point was that if one had enough faith, nothing negative would ever happen to them.  My dilemma now 40 years later is that I have seen miracles and deliverance from certain death and I have seen many good and Godly people die in less than pleasant circumstances.  Of course, we all die.  The Scripture plainly tells us that we all have an appointment with death and that death for the believer leads to the fulfillment of eternal life in the Presence of God.  What then shall we make of this and how do we navigate difficult situations?  

We have to come to a place, I believe, where we accept that, while He does not want to be confusing, He is very complex.  He is infinite and we are finite.  Our limited human resources can only comprehend a tiny portion of our infinite God.  That is why people who think they have God all figured out are confusing at best and dangerous at worst to those listening to them.  While I know that this article may not be very inspiring, it can lead us to an even greater faith.  Most of the people that I have seen become discouraged and some who have even walked away from the Faith have been people who told us they had HIM figured out.  They even gave us formulas that if we followed promised to solve all our problems.  I have watched and listened to some who made the grandest statements about faith weep in the deepest despair and confusion. Hebrews 11 is called the "faith chapter."  The first half of it tells us of those who worked miracles and saw people raised from the dead by faith.  The second half tells us of others who suffered greatly and lost loved ones in great ordeals.  It goes on to tell us that they were all commended for their faith!  

It all brings me back to a "head scratching" moment of saying to the Lord, " I simply don't know."  The moment that I make this statement I feel this volcanic movement deep within that cries out, "yet will I trust Him!"  For me the last 20 years or so have been years filled with great successes and great challenges to say the least.  There have been some dark days of deep contemplation.  Yet, there is this inner man that rises from the ashes time and again.  It is something for which I cannot take credit because it is not a natural thing.  It is an evidence of an inner connection within this frail human life that maintains a connection with Almighty God.  It is in fact God!  It is Christ in me, the hope of glory!  It leaves me often thinking, "well, I don't KNOW any more than I did when this all began but I have learned that in all situations, He is pulling me through the crisis in perfect peace. "
It is difficult to understand but having been to the doorway of heaven on more than one occasion I can tell you that there is no fear there, only grace and faith.  Believe for what you think is the best and be willing to accept everything else in faith in His faithfulness.