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He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. (Ephesians 1:8-9)mysterious ways

No. God is not hard to understand.

I do a disservice to God and to others if I say He is. Why would God want to make it hard to understand Him?If I say God is difficult to understand I am saying more about myself than I am about God.

God has done everything in His power to explain Himself to us. I may not listen or I may not have devoted myself to understanding Him and His ways. But that is not His fault or by His design. God wants to tell those willing to listen and proclaim His truth (Amos 3:7). If He doesn’t tell me it’s not because of the openness of His heart and will, but because I’ve closed mine from hearing and sharing.

So much of God’s will is already clear: Love Him and love others; be kind to one another; let no unwholesome talk come from my mouth; think on whatever is noble, right, pure, lovely; fear the Lord and persuade others. I know plenty of God’s will. If I say I do not understand Him I more likely mean I want God to be a crystal ball to tell me the distant future more than what I should do next.

If evil, pain, or destruction meets me or mine, what am I to say? That God is hard to understand? Why would I wish to place doubt in the minds of others at such a time? I mislead reciting tired and thoughtless explanations such as “God works in mysterious ways” or “God has a reason for everything,” implying we are incapable of comprehending God.

Since I am in a loving relationship with God, He is always ready to communicate. I cannot comprehend the entirety of an omniscient God, but an all-powerful God can surely help me understand His purposes & His ways. These things He has set clear:

  1. He created the earth and all in it. He designed the physics of the universe. Nothing surprises Him.
  2. God designed us in His image, but our bodies live in a fallen world where we have the ability to choose between good and evil. Ever since the Garden of Eden, these choices have consequences. Our bodies are not designed to last or withstand physical laws. The physical body will decay, some faster than others (cancer) and some abruptly (accidents).
  3. When bad things happen to good people, we must remember two things:
    1. One, bad things are often the result of actions. If two cars collide at 65 MPH because one person acts to cross a center-line the result is bad. If one acts in adultery the result is bad. If I want the freedom to choose my actions, I cannot blame God when He does not stop me.
    2. Two, there are no good people. I do not deserve anything good I receive. If I think I do then my sin is pride and I deserve no good thing for that. The only righteous one was Christ and look what He got: rejection, ridicule, dejection, desertion  and death. Or look at Paul: shipwrecked, beaten, whipped, betrayed, and death.

So, how am I to act? I am to encourage others that God is knowable. He wants to know us. He lives in us. He listens. He has given us His Word, His Truth, in the person of Jesus Christ. If I want to know and understand Him, then I must know and understand the life of the Son. That life in this world, for however long I’m granted, will be full of trouble. The world wants me to think my calling is comfort. But God’s calling is to peace and to share that hope with others.