Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Judging from the searches that are bringing traffic to this blog, there must be a lot of people out there asking the big, "Why?" question in regards to the Asian tsunami. There are searches linking the disaster to prophecy, biblical perspective, specific passages of Scripture, and the like. There are searches asking, "Why did God?"
People are naturally curious about the secret things of God. The scripture quoted above tells us that what has been revealed is in Scripture for us, but there are some things we are not told, and those things belong to God. II Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that what we have been told in Scripture is enough to make us, "complete, and equipped for every good work." So what more is there that we need to know?
We are given, as a matter of general principle, many reasons why God might bring calamity. (Amos 3:6 "If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?")
Sometimes it is a rebuke to His people; sometimes it is in judgment of the wicked. Sometimes difficulties come to teach us or strengthen us. So which is it in this case? We don't know. This is one of the secret things of God of which we are not told. The best we could do to assign a reason for what God has done would be to speculate and risk misrepresenting the mind of God, as Job's friends did.
Wanting to know what God will do and why He has done what He has done are natural desires for us fallen folk. God warns us about seeking these kinds of answers from mediums, necromancers, and fortune tellers. Christians sometimes search for alleged hidden messages in Scripture, or seek out those claiming to be modern-day prophets to satisfy their curiosity about the future. Sometimes these "prophets" are little more than the fortune-tellers disguised as Christians--wolves in sheep's clothing bent on devouring the sheep.
To be content without knowing all these answers is a matter of trust. Can we say that while we do not know why God has done this thing, we trust Him enough to know that His reasons are good, because He is good? Can we go on without demanding a reason so we can judge God and decide whether or not His reasons are good enough to satisfy our scrutiny? Can we say with Paul that God's grace is sufficient for us? (II Corinthians 12:9)
II Timothy 3:16-17, again, tells us that the Scriptures we have are enough to make us, "complete, and equipped for every good work." In this regard, we do already have enough information to know what to do in the face of this tragedy, don't we? We know to pray for the suffering people, (It is too late to pray for the dead.), to give of our resources, and if we are in a position to do so, to give of our labors. We are to do all of these things as servants of Christ and in His name. There is not one thing we could learn from knowing the mind of God in bringing this calamity that would inform us on how better to respond to it.
I agree! Good post. God is sovereign (not us)!
Posted by: Brad | January 01, 2005 at 02:59 AM
Great blog - very insightful and thank you for sharing your spirit.
Posted by: Annie | April 25, 2005 at 10:36 AM
Great site! I love your insight, and thank you for sharing.
Posted by: Annie | April 25, 2005 at 10:37 AM