You'll Understand Later

Life has many seasons. As Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 describes, there is a time and a season for everything from laughter, joy, and love to tears, sorrow and hate. Learning to understand life in its various season is important. God does not always give His reasons for the season that we encounter. He prompts us to move, or change our jobs, or to take various other leaps of faith, but He does not always tell us why. As people, we often get caught up in "why." Why do I have to go to church? Why do I have to listen to you? Jesus once told His disciples in John 13:7 "Jesus replied, 'You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.'" The disciples could only guess at Christ's purpose on Earth. They knew that He had come to bring salvation to His people, but they could not conceive just how Christ was going to accomplish His mission. J.R. Miller writes, "How great and wise God is- and how vast are the affairs he controls! It is any wonder, that we are puzzled and perplexed sometimes concerning his dealings with us? Could we expect to understand all the reasons for his actions, and always to see at once the wisdom and beauty in his vast and complex purposes?" We need to give credit where credit is due. God knows vastly more than we do, and he understands the consequences of our actions better than we do. When God asks us to do something, it is not because He is bored and wants to watch you suffer. God wants to see how your heart will respond to Him because He has big plans for you. But you won't understand that until later.

Living Life