The Manna Life - MYSTERY OF GOD
By Jennifer Holder, Guest Writer
Today’s Treasure
Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him!
Job 26:14
One of the most encouraging things I envision picking up each morning in pursuing this manna life is the mystery of God. It reminds me not to rely on my own finite limitations and judgments to find and hold on to hope in the midst of my confusing circumstances. Trusting in the mystery of God is believing and depending on the fact that there is more to God and His plan than what I am capable of seeing or understanding and that the unseen part is working for my good in beautiful ways, too. I think of God’s mystery as the by-product of His holiness, that which is entirely “other” and above mankind and perhaps one of God’s most important characteristics. Because God is holy, His love, power, grace, strength, goodness, sovereignty, and wisdom are on an entirely different plane from our understanding. This superiority is what makes God, God.
Faith and hope both rely on God being beyond my comprehension. Grasping the mystery of God is holding space for the possibility that I do not see all there is to see. Many of the people in the Bible had to lean into the mystery of God when life presented them with overwhelming difficulties. Job knew this well. As God spoke directly to Job, He repeatedly emphasized that He was in a position to know things Job could never know, and it freed him to be present with God and to continue praising Him, even when He did not understand. Surely the disciples learned this over time as they interacted with Jesus. Abraham, Noah, Joshua, David, Jonathan, Ruth, Esther, Nehemiah, Daniel and his dear friends, Mary, the mother of Jesus, Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, Paul, and so many of the saints who lived and died for that which they could not see had to reconcile what they did know about God’s love for them with what they didn’t understand about their lived realities. We can take comfort from their faith and hope in that which was beyond their comprehension.
Ecclesiastes suggests an appropriate response to the discrepancy between God and us, saying:
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.
Ecclesiastes 5:1-2
Job recognizes the magnitude of God’s mysterious ways, saying, “Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways, and how small a whisper do we hear of him!” (Job 26:14) He responds to that truth by declaring:
Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.
Job 40:4
When I do not understand the reality before me, silence and awe are a fitting response to this mystery of God. While there certainly is a time for such reverence, the apostle Paul also offers another response, suggesting we can lean into this mystery of God in confidence because we know the full breadth, length, height, and depth of God’s love for us. In light of that love, he delights in explaining that we can rely on the fact that God is:
…able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.
Ephesians 3:20
This concept became something I began praying for in earnest. I wanted to be able to imagine that no matter how awful our circumstances appeared to me, God was working beyond my wildest dreams to bring about His good, pleasing, and perfect will for our lives because He loves us. God gives me the opportunity to trust in His mysteriousness, awaiting that time when He will bring all things into perfect wholeness. Even though God’s mystery does not mitigate the pain and sorrows of life, knowing I do not see the whole frees me to rejoice instead of despair.
PRAYER
God, I pray for the imagination to lean into Your mystery. May You grant me the courage to wait on You and withhold my judgments about Your involvement in my life, the appropriateness of Your plan, and the method You are using to accomplish Your purposes. Remind me of who You are: my loving, trustworthy, gentle, gracious Father. May I see Your mystery as a beautiful gift, and may it bring comfort to my heart, knowing that while I do not see everything and understand even less, You see all and are working toward my good as You promise. Thank You for Your mystery. Amen.
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Sharon W. Betters is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, pastor’s wife, and cofounder of MARKINC Ministries, where she is the Director of Resource Development. Sharon is the author of several books, including Treasures of Encouragement, Treasures in Darkness, and co-author with Susan Hunt of Aging with Grace. She is the co-host of the Help & Hope podcast and writes Daily Treasure, an online devotional.
Contact Sharon with comments or questions at dailytreasure@markinc.org.