My cat, Tabasco, watched me calmly as I approached him. Before he could understand what was happening, I placed a large plastic cone over his head and secured it in place. His big green eyes showed shock and confusion, and he looked at me as if I had just stabbed him in the back. How I wished I could explain to him what was happening! Despite knowing it was useless, I still told him he had a wound that wouldn’t heal because he kept licking it, so the vet insisted there was no other option but for him to wear the dreaded collar. Tabasco ignored my explanation, vigorously shook his head, then stumbled away, bumping into the furniture.
I watched him leave with a heavy heart. I felt like I was the Grinch and the Wicked Witch of the West all rolled into one. My thoughts then wandered to the Lord. Does he feel the same way about us? Could it be that he wishes he could explain things to us that we could never understand?
I don’t need to tell you that our minds could never grasp the full extent of all the knowledge that exists. Sometimes, I don’t even understand myself, let alone the world out there. Even the most brilliant men and women can comprehend but a drop of the vast ocean of facts, figures, information, and wisdom that the universe contains.
The Bible is clear that God’s understanding far exceeds our own. His ways and thoughts are higher than the heavens in comparison to ours. (1) His wisdom, knowledge, and judgments are beyond our ability to trace. (2) I could go on and on, but you get the point. Even though he created us in his image, endowing us with incredible mental and emotional abilities, we’re still limited compared to our Creator.
Still, God wants to explain as much as he can to us. The fact that he’s given us the Bible, full of his revelations about the world around us, proves his intentions. But what about my original question? Does he feel the same as I do with my cat, wishing he could clarify even more? I believe he does.
While there may not be a verse that explicitly states so, there are, nonetheless, other situations where God wished he could have done something for his people that circumstances didn’t allow. For example, he wished he could have blessed and given them the victory if only they had followed his ways. (3) Jesus wept over Jerusalem because of its refusal to accept what would have brought it peace. (4) Is it too much of a stretch to think that God wished he could explain to us things that are beyond our comprehension? I think not.
Okay, so what difference does this make? What does it have to do with us? For me, knowing God’s heart and his attitude towards us is a game-changer when I face situations I don’t understand. Honestly, there are some issues or events that deeply upset me, and I realize I’ll never fully resolve them in my mind. Do I let them damage my relationship with God or my view of him? No, but only because I know God loves us and cares about our well-being, and he would explain it if he could.
In other words, I know I can trust God, which is exactly what he wants from us. Just as I want my cat to still trust me when I put that horrible cone on him, God longs for us to trust him when bad things happen. His heart breaks as he watches us suffer, infinitely more than the sadness I feel when I observe Tabasco struggling with the collar around his neck. God is not indifferent to our plight. He loves us more than we’ll ever know or understand.
Do you trust him?
(1) Isaiah 55:8–9
(2) Romans 11:33
(3) Deuteronomy 5:29, Psalm 81:13–14, Isaiah 48:18
(4) Luke 19:41–42
Picture: Carol Schlorff