Experiencing God's Presence #351

Experiencing God's Presence #351

How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

Romans 11:33

Babies learn a language by listening and imitating. They try out words and phrases and come to understand, by trial and error, what works and what doesn’t. Over time, the language becomes a part of them—without analyzing verb tenses, without consciously thinking of grammar rules, without noticing the inconsistency of patterns. They don’t learn the parts; they learn the whole.

Adults usually try to learn a foreign language by studying the parts—analyzing grammatical patterns, memorizing conjugations, reciting vocabulary. And we try to understand God in exactly the same way. We look for patterns and talk about what God would or wouldn’t do based on His methods we discern from Scripture and trying to apply them in predictable ways. The problem is that God isn’t predictable. His character never changes, but His methods rarely stay the same. If we try to learn the system, we’ll live in the Kingdom like foreigners trying to wrap their brains around the language rather than speaking it from their hearts.

He counsels us repeatedly in His Word, through the stories of people who knew Him well. “I want you to know Me,” He seems to tell us, “but I don’t expect you to understand Me. In fact, you can’t. I’m not predictable, and you wouldn’t understand many of My thoughts and reasons even if I explained them to you. They come from a much higher perspective than yours. Your job is to trust Me, not figure Me out. Seek My Presence, not My patterns. Watch My ways, don’t define them. As you go through this day, keep your eyes and ears on Me. Watch what I’m doing, listen for My voice, and follow.”

Lord, show me what You’re doing. I come to you, recognizing You as a Person, not a system. Give me glimpses of Your works and let me hear Your whispers. Tune me to Your Presence every moment of this day.