“Wisdom is only truly achieved when you realize that you don’t know everything.” –Author Unknown
I saw this written someplace recently. I remember a time in my life I felt like somehow I had to be able to explain everything or I would not appear intelligent or as well informed as I should be.
Before I retired from teaching school, I was having a conversation with my assistant principal. He was a very gentle soul and a good Christian man. He couldn’t discipline worth a flip but, he was a very nice man and probably should have been a school counselor. I don’t remember what we were talking about, it has been far too many years ago, but I will never forget this statement he made. He said, “Juliana, it is ok to say ‘I don’t know.’ When I learned to say that so much pressure lifted off of me and I looked so much less foolish trying to explain something I really had no idea about!” That has stuck with me after all these years!
We will never know the answers to everything. The Bible tells us in Psalm 131:1 “Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty; neither do I exercise myself in matters too great or in things too wonderful for me.” God knows and knows how to work it all to our benefit! We do not have to be ”know it all(s)”. In fact, I have found where people try to prove they have an explanation for everything, not far below the surface lays a very big ego! Funny, how so many problems root, yet again, in pride.
In Acts 28:3-6 tells us “Now Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and he was laying them on the fire when a viper crawled out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.
4 When the natives saw the little animal hanging from his hand, they said to one another, Doubtless this man is a murderer, for though he has been saved from the sea, Justice [[a]the goddess of avenging] has not permitted that he should live.
5 Then [Paul simply] shook off the small creature into the fire and suffered no evil effects.
6 However, they were waiting, expecting him to swell up or suddenly drop dead; but when they had watched him a long time and saw nothing fatal or harmful come to him, they changed their minds and kept saying over and over that he was a god.”
Notice these people thought Paul had suffered shipwreck and escaped death, but he was bitten by an extremely poisonous snake because of something he did to bring such terrible things upon himself. They kept waiting for the “goddess Justice”, the so called ”goddess of avenging” to teach Paul a lesson because they thought he had committed some terrible crime. Surely, this is why all these bad things were happening to him, according to them. He had “opened” some type of door for all of this to be going on! These people were PAGANS. They knew little, if anything at all, about God! They had to be able to explain this! In so doing, they came not only to a wrong conclusion, but a ridiculous one at that.
That is exactly what we can do when we try to “explain” the possible “whys” for every ones troubles. We don’t know. Other people are not our “servants” or “children” as the Bible tells us, therefore we have no right to try to figure their lives out as to what and why certain things are happening to them. God almost killed Job’s accusers for doing this very thing and if Job had not prayed mercy for them He would have!!
People can open themselves up for some things. Common sense and medical science tells us that if we have certain bad habits we are opening the door for certain diseases. We don’t have to tell them or everyone else around us that is probably why this certain disease came upon this person. They know and everyone else does, too. Pray for their healing and leave the rest of it alone!
Certain things happen to good people simply because we live in a fallen world. How sad for that person in their hour of need of comfort and compassion there is some misguided person saying, “Well, they either did something they shouldn’t have or didn’t do something they should have done or this would not be happening!” They have no idea the hurt they are bringing, because their ego to “know it all” is so inflated they cannot see what is so obvious to everyone else! The fact is they just need someone to pray for them and let God handle the rest!
There was a couple in a church one time that was expecting a baby. I knew this couple quite well and knew them to be very Godly people and very educated on the things of the Bible. They walked in great love and were just very good people! One day, the wife began to have some unwanted symptoms in the pregnancy. She lost the baby two days later. A certain leader in the church got up and announced to the congregation, this dear lady had lost this baby because it was a surprise pregnancy and “they had not been speaking everything they should have been” before the pregnancy occurred. What a ridiculous and ignorant statement to make! If that was the case, every woman who is not saved and has even conceived out of pure sin would be miscarrying their babies! This was not the reason this child did not make it to full term!! Should we speak the word over our children? You better know it! I know for a fact these people did do the things they should do!! But, this leader could not say, “I don’t know why” and leave it at that, and much harm could have been caused psychologically to these parents because of it!
If the Holy Spirit isn’t telling you “why” LEAVE IT ALONE! God knows, and sometimes, that is enough said! Don’t let the devil trick you into thinking you have to explain away every bad thing that takes place. Pray and have compassion on people and let God take care of the rest. After all, they are HIS children, not ours and He knows everything in its entirety! Believe me, God will make all things right as we yield and trust in Him. I am so glad that weight is not on my shoulders. It gives me the ability to walk in so much more peace and love!
Thank you, precious reader, for visiting my blog! I know your time is valuable and I appreciate you! Have a blessed day, all day!
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