Not Understanding

Exodus 4:1-17

Do you ever get frustrated when something happens that you don’t understand? I like to think of it like this; there are things that happen in life that you understand and can look at the situation and determine a cause and effect. Then there are those things that happen that you will never understand. For example, why did someone die of cancer when another person had the same cancer but survived or was healed? It’s as if your brain has these file cabinets and some are labeled with “Reasons Why Things have happened”. It’s easy to store things in these places because you have some sense of closure. Not many of us have a file called “The I Don’t Understand file”. We all need this place to put things.

Let’s examine the story of Moses. Moses goes to this bush that is on fire and he hears God speaking to him. God tells him many things that he will do. Moses then asks God what he is to do if the people don’t listen to him. God told him to throw his staff down and it turned into a snake. Well, he then told him to put his hand in his cloak and pull it out. His hand was white with leprosy. When he put it back into his cloak it was healed. Those are neat things that showed God was with Moses.

Now if you remember the rest of the story, Moses told God that he was slow of speech. In other words Moses had a stuttering problem. Now why would God give Moses these abilities to perform these miracles yet he wouldn’t heal him of a small stuttering problem? See, if you or I were God we would have just healed Moses of his little insignificant speech problem and sent him on his way. But that is not what God did. Do you think that ever crossed Moses mind? I think it did. Sometimes in life things happen that don’t seem fair and we want to have an answer for why it happened. Christians need to learn a phrase that would help us so much. That phrase is “I don’t know and I don’t understand”. Does that make God any less sovereign or powerful? No. It doesn’t. It’s ok to not understand everything. God will let you know the things you need to understand. Therefore, if you do not understand something, you can understand that you don’t need too!

My challenge to you this week is found in Prov. 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Have a blessed week!