He knows . . . it all!

Clear lines of cause and effect are comforting to me.  I like to think that if I do this, I can expect that result; if I put in the time and effort, I will find the results I desire.  Mostly that is true, but then it happens.  In spite of doing good, pain comes.  Four and half years ago, my dear wife, a godly and good woman who took care of her health, who had loved God and others for her entire life, was diagnosed with a cancer that eventually ended her earthly journey after a long slog through suffering.  It still feels unfair to me!  “Why her?” I ask. “She did not deserve this.” A hundred people have offered me ‘explanations.’ I know the philosophical arguments for God’s goodness and human free will – and that helps, a little, but still there are moments when I wonder if He is, in fact, a “good, good Father.”  (That is one of the hardest songs for me to sing to this day.)

Bitterness is not part of my life because I match my doubts with declarations that do not explain my pain, but which offset the anger I might otherwise experience.

One of those facts that I learn from the Scripture is that the whole script is not written on this side of eternity. God asks me to trust Him with the parts hidden in that realm that exists as surely as this present world. That does not release me from responsibility for making the best choices possible, for realizing that there actions taken by others that are affecting my life of which I am completely unaware.  My greatest comfort and strongest faith grows out of the heart-deep conviction that ‘He knows … it all!”   "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:13, NIV)

That is no threat to me. How about you?  I am glad He knows … it all! I am comforted that He does not evaluate me based solely on the last 24 hours of my life, that He sees the totality of my life and the context of my choices; good and bad.  Best of all, I rest in the declaration that He knows me as a son, beloved, and dressed in righteousness through the grace-gift of Christ Jesus.  Am I deluded about the sins and failures of my life? I surely hope not. I fail Him and others. I grow impatient, I am not loving.   However, faith closes that gap between my profession of faith and the actions of a still as yet imperfect man.  God be praised.

The rest of the story is told by Peter - "Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear." (1 Peter 1:17, NIV)  Precisely because God knows … it all –  there are no excuses for our failure to take the grace and power for godly living that that will hold water.  God looks at us completely impartially. We are loathe to attach the word “fear” to our Father but if we make Him too small in our mind, we risk living carelessly, thinking that He can be swayed like an old, gentle grandpa.

Today may the fact that He knows … it all both comfort and challenge us.  When life is hard, when sorrows come, when temptation appears to be overwhelming make the faith statement that He knows and has not forgotten. And, as you feel His gaze, reject disobedience as you choose holiness.

Here is a word from the Word - "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." (Proverbs 1:7, NLT) "Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God." (Proverbs 2:3-5, NLT)

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Blessings

We pray for blessings

We pray for peace comfort for family

Protection while we sleep

We pray for healing for prosperity

We pray for Your mighty hand

To ease our suffering

And all the while You hear each spoken need

Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

And what if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You're near

And what if trials of this life

Are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom

Your voice to hear

We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near

We doubt Your goodness

We doubt Your love

As if ev'ry promise from Your Word is not enough

And all the while You hear each desp'rate plea

And long that we'd have faith to believe

When friends betray us

When darkness seems to win

We know that pain reminds this heart

That this is not this is not our home

It's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

And what if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You're near

What if my greatest disappointments

Or the aching of this life

Is a revealing of a greater thirst

This world can't satisfy

And what if trials of this life

The rain the storms the hardest nights

Are Your mercies in disguise

Laura Story

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