God's Secrets

I am the kind of person who likes to know and understand the direction of things. If there is a plan, I want to know what it is so I can be aware of what’s coming. I am not much of the “go with the flow” type. I like knowing where this “flow” is going to take me. It’s not so much that I am a planner. Not really, I am not. I just like being in the loop. It doesn’t bother me not being the one in charge of making the plans. I just want to know what the plan is!

I’m the same way when it comes to God’s plan. I wonder about it all the time because it kills me that I don’t necessarily “know” what it is. I wish I knew and understood His plan perfectly so I could just sit back and relax while I watch it unfold. It’s not a control issue. I don’t want to make the plan. It is a knowledge issue. I just want to know what it is. It doesn’t work like that, though.

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29:29 

The truth is that God does have things that He doesn’t reveal to us because they are not for us to know. They are meant to be secret. He is God and it is His will to not fully reveal it all in detail. He reveals what He has planned to reveal and what is necessary for us to have a full life in Him. For instance, He has told us that He does have a plan and that it is good and meant to bring us goodness, not harm. (Jeremiah 29: 11) He has revealed that we need to sit still and let Him be God. (Psalm 46: 10) And He has, very often told us, to not be anxious, but to trust in Him at all times. (Philippians 4: 6) We can trust Him, for He is faithful and unchangeable. (1 Corinthians 1: 9; Malachi 3:6)

However, it is not for us to know all the details of His plan. Jesus warned us about this. He told His disciples right before He ascended into Heaven, when they asked Him when He would restore the Kingdom to Israel that,

“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1: 7-8 

God’s timing is not our own, as it isn’t the full extent of His plan, but He does give us needed revelations, like the fact that the Holy Spirit will come upon us and give us power to carry out His great commission, to be His witnesses. Jesus revealed to us through His words to the disciples that even though we are not entrusted with the specific dates of when the events of His plan to restore His Kingdom will occur, we are responsible, in the meantime, to tell the world that it will happen.

As another year comes to a close in the coming days, it is important once again to remember this commission. “To the ends of the earth” means as far as our voice can reach. It might be our own homes and family, places of work, schoos, church, community, country and/or abroad. It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that we do it with the means that the Lord has endowed us with. I don’t know how to do it or even where to start. But one thing I know is that He will equip me if I have a willing heart. I have no clue where I’m going or a panoramic/all-encompassing view of the plan, but I know whom I serve and I know He who began a good work in me will see it to its completion for His glory. (Philippians 1: 6)