The hidden things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:29 HCSB)
There are times that God tells us specifically what to do for our own good and protection from evil. But because we don’t understand the full picture, we delay obeying, or obey half-heartedly, or just refuse completely. We think we deserve an explanation to every question or doubt about His commands. But God has given us enough to know and do, so that His perfectly timed blessings can freely flow. Some things of God remain hidden for a reason, but like impatient children, we don’t want to focus on what we do know, we’d rather obsess about what we don’t know.
The revealed things belong to us. The thousands of promises in His word are all ours, and even if we cling to just a few of them, that would be enough to see the miraculous. When we bother our minds about all the small details of exactly how He will answer our prayer, and why it’s taking so long, and who among our acquaintances is messing everything up, and that God doesn’t seem to understand just how urgent our needs are, we reduce God to a common store clerk who can’t get our order right. We call Him Lord and treat Him with great disrespect when we refuse to just trust and obey, even without all the details explained. As a good parent, God gives us just enough to know and do, and then expects us to get busy doing it. Later the hows and whys make sense, and the blessings unfold.
“So that we may follow the words of this law,” doesn’t sound like much of a promise, but that’s because we view laws and principles as burdens that restrict us. With God, nothing could be further from the truth. His ways are deep and spiritual. They set us free to bear greater fruit and gifts of His Spirit. If the privilege of knowing His principles elevates us to a higher level, then obediently practicing His laws is the spark that creates a living and powerful faith. What an honor to be a part of this process of miracles, and this is a gift not only for us, but for our children.
In one of his famous children’s books, C.S. Lewis tells the tale of two children who make a long journey to find freedom. They discover that Aslan, who is Jesus in the form of a lion, has allowed many of their struggles to happen so that He could direct them to safety when they had no idea of the danger that was around them. One child asks why certain things happened to his friend, and Aslan replies, "I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no one any story but his own.”
God speaks through an inspiration at church, a word from the Bible, the testimony of a friend, or just a strong impression in the middle of your day when you sincerely want to hear His voice. He is revealing His direction to you. Do what He says, don’t wait, and don’t dishonor His guidance with doubts and fear. If you think He hasn’t spoken to you at all, just take a look at all the ten months of promises on this blog. Then check if you’ve implemented what He needs from you yet. He has plenty to reveal, if we have the ears to hear and the willingness to follow.
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