Insufficient Answers - Not All Questions Have AnswersНамуна

Insufficient answers

All Christians face things in their lives that they don't understand. From a human perspective, there are inadequate answers to all of our questions. God's choice is to withhold some of the answers from us. What has not been revealed is known to the Lord our God (Deuteronomy 29:29).

He is not doing it out of spite but because He wants to protect us. What He reveals to us in the Bible is enough for us to live meaningful and victorious lives. The Bible is not an 'answer' book. For example, it doesn't give answers to all of our scientific questions. However, it does provide the answers we need for our spiritual journey. The Bible is primarily a book about relationships between people and between God and people.

Sometimes, what God does and allows doesn't make sense to us. The night before the crucifixion, when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, Peter struggled to understand what Jesus was doing. In response to that, Jesus said, "What I do, you do not comprehend now, but later you will understand" (John 13:7). Jesus also clearly says, "It is not for you to know the time and circumstance that the Father has determined in His own power" (Acts 1:7). There are other times when we fail to understand because we don't know the Word and the power of God (Matthew 22:29).

The fact that we don't always understand what God is doing doesn't mean He is wrong and doesn't know what He is doing. "Although He was the Son, through all He suffered, He learned what obedience is" (Hebrews 5:8). When Jesus came, He lived in total surrender to God, total obedience to His Father, and total surrender to His will. When our relationship with God is anchored in our acceptance of His Lordship over our lives, and we are walking in total surrender and obedience to Him, we will receive many answers to our questions.

Sometimes, there are things taking place in our lives that don't make sense. It was probably the same for John the Baptist when he was imprisoned. Jesus sent him a message and quoted from Isaiah 61:1-4. Jesus omitted one essential part of what is stated in Isaiah 61:1-4, namely, "to proclaim release for the captives, freedom for those incarcerated." These words would, however, never apply to John the Baptist because he died in prison. He would, in fact, die in prison. By his death, the one who prepared the path for the Messiah would be removed so that the focus could fall entirely on the One for whom the path was prepared. Other prisoners would be released, but not John the Baptist.