Don't Sweat the Secret Things (Bible Reading)

Deuteronomy 29:29 - "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law."


This is in the context of the nation of Israel being prepared by God to enter the promised land that they have been looking forward to for many years. A generation has died off because of sin, and now this new generation is being reminded of what God expects of them in the new land. Beside the 10 commandments that were rehearsed earlier in the law, here in these chapters, there are added laws that would assist everyone in their society. They were laws that showed respect for life and for possessions - respect for others and worship toward God alone.


The people of that day must have struggled greatly with trying to figure out this God, whom although they could not see, they had certainly seen evidence of Him, and knew what He could do - both in His mercy and in His judgment. I know they had many unanswered questions for God and about God. They probably did not fully understand why God had chosen to do certain things in the past with their parents and grandparents; and now what He was telling them in preparation for the promised land.


I find myself in the same situation today; and I honestly don't know of anyone not in this situation. We just cannot fully understand God: what He does, or why He does it. There are some things that make sense to us and are plain. But, there is quite a bit that I put in the "secret things" category. And one of the harder things to do is to let those things stay secret. Instead, we want answers for everything, and even sometimes make up one just to feel better. But, the fact is that God keeps those things His secrets for good reasons (I just don't know what they are) and to bring Himself glory (I just don't know how).

My responsibility, your responsibility is this: to give ourselves to those things that are not secret. Just as with the plain commands of God to the people of Israel, who were entering the promised land, so we have some very "black and white" things written in God's Word which should be our focus. No, we may not be able to cleary understand or explain predestination or election; but we can continually thank God for His salvation; and look for opportunities to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others (Ephesians 1,2).

No, we may not be able to understand why certain "bad" things have happened; but we can trust in the biblical truth that God takes those "bad" things (from our perspective) and turns them into our spiritual good (Romans 8:28). We may not be able to figure out why we are so worried and full of anxiety; but we can do what God has asked: give our anxieties to Him, and through prayer, with thanksgiving, realize the peace of God. And then we can follow that up with the right kind of focused thinking (Philippians 4:6-8).

No, these things and the other commands of God are not easy; but they are the things we are to focus on. The "secret things" that we just cannot understand have to be entrusted to God. What is clearly given for us to obey is our daily challenge, as we seek to demonstrate our love for God through obedience, for His glory.

Don't sweat the secret things - God can handle them!