There is something that happened during the pandemic that has stuck with me ever since. It is the reality that, as event after event was forced to be canceled, we had to reckon with the tension of God’s omniscience (that nothing is hidden from God) and what God chooses to reveal to us.

I knew, as many of you did, that God was not surprised by COVID, nor was God stressed about what would happen next. In all things, God was still reigning in heaven and we could trust that fact. And what that truth meant was that when all of us were making all sorts of plans—prayerful, Spirit-led plans for really good things—we had been allowed to move forward into something that was never going to happen. God knew and allowed us to struggle when reality hit.

I’m sure God had reasons for that, and I’m sure when we are in his presence and allowed to see the big picture, we will understand things differently. But when we consider who we are in light of who God is, it is really helpful and necessary to keep our finite nature in view. We can’t really understand God’s infinite nature because we know nothing of it. Therefore, when we read texts like the one today, we must keep God’s infinite nature in mind so we don’t become obsessed with understanding exactly what God is doing and why.

In this passage, God allows his prophets to speak, calling to mind the great prophets of Elijah, who withheld rain from Israel and sent fire from heaven, as well as Moses, who turned the rivers red with blood and brought all types of plagues. In this vision, he allows them to be murdered, then brings them back to life. From our perspective, this is brutal, and life and death look permanent. But in God’s view, they are not.

This difficult passage leads us to more questions and doesn’t offer much in the way of hope either. But as we see, the visions aren’t done. God is still communicating, and as we pause today, the best thing for us to do is remember God’s holiness and know that because of that trait, we have nothing to fear.

Reflection: 

  • How comfortable are you with the tension of not understanding what God is up to? How has this changed over your lifetime?
  • What is one way that our finite human nature prevents us from understanding who God is? 
  • Take a moment to thank God for revealing these things to us, and ask him to give you wisdom as he sees fit as you continue to read his word.