Trust the Lord in Life’s Mysteries 

Do you like mysteries? I have always enjoyed them. When I was a kid, I collected and read many of the Hardy Boys books. I still like a good mystery, although I rarely sit and read such books today. But sometimes I am able to catch a good mystery movie. I am not talking about the ones where you know who committed the crime and you simply watch to see how the detective figures it out. I am referring to the ones that are a mystery to me, the viewer – the ones in which I don’t know exactly what is going on. I have to try to pick out the clues, put them together, and solve the case. We like mysteries, but we also like to be able to figure them out. If we can’t do that, it can get frustrating.

There are some real mysteries in life. There are things we don’t fully understand. We often look for clues, trying to put it all together so that we can say, “I think I’ve got this all figured out. This is what God is doing.” We like to try to figure out the mystery of where God is taking us personally and how He is going to accomplish it all. While it can be good for us to explore those mysteries, we also need to recognize that there are some things God may not intend for us to figure out right now.

There have been occasions when I have heard people lament, “If God would just give me a sign to help me believe or to assist me in figuring out what is going on in my life...” I heard a statement one time that stood out to me. It was said that a sign is not something God gives you now in order to make you believe. Rather, if you will believe, then somewhere down the road God will give you the sign or evidence to confirm your faith. One example would be when God called Moses to go to Egypt to deliver His people. Moses objected, “Who am I to do this?” God told him, “I will give you a sign. When you bring the people out, you will come back here and serve Me on this mountain.” Think about that. The sign wasn’t some spectacular manifestation God brought about right then in order to get Moses to believe. It was something God would do later, after Moses had trusted God enough to go down to Egypt and lead the people out of their bondage. It would confirm Moses’ faith after he stepped out and obeyed God.

We face mysteries in life. Why did I get in that accident that debilitated me? Why are my grandchildren suffering from a terrible disease? Why did that relationship not last? We try to see the clues and ask God to give us a sign to help us figure it all out. But maybe God doesn’t intend for us to figure it all out, at least not at this point. His main intention is for you and me to trust Him, believe, and follow Him. 

Life isn’t as simple as the Hardy boys made it seem. Joe and Frank always seemed to be able to find the clues, put them together, and solve the mystery. We may not always be able to do that as we grapple with the mysterious case of what God’s doing in my life. While we may investigate those mysteries, we shouldn’t get frustrated if God doesn’t give us all the answers right now. Let’s not give God an ultimatum that we need to see a sign and solve the mystery before we’ll believe and live for Him. Go ahead and believe. Do what God says in His Word. Live for Him. And as you faithfully walk that road, watch for the signs along the way that God will give you to confirm that you are putting your faith in the right place.

The Lord won’t always solve the mystery for us, but He will assure us that He has it all figured out, that we can trust Him, and that we can follow Him with confidence.