There’s more going on here than we perceive. None of us are smarter than God.

Job and his friends systematized their life experiences and observations and created a theological philosophy to rival any throughout history and superior to most. As clear, concise, and mostly accurate as they were, they missed one piece of the grand puzzle of the universe. You and I most often miss this piece, also. 

The missing piece is how no system can contain and adequately, accurately explain God’s greatness, God’s wisdom, God’s majesty. At best, our systems point to God in all of his glory. Never, never, never, however, allow a system to attempt to place God in a box. There is no box that big. 

The last three sentences are as inelegant as they are true. Such is the problem of attempting to encapsulate our Creator completely. James Weldon Johnson wrote, “Your arms are too short to box with God.” He was onto something. Short arms, puny brains, and overconfidence are bad combinations for explaining God in all his glory.

God has revealed much of himself. He has presented all we need to know. He has recorded and preserved truth so we can comprehend his wonderful words of life. 

At the edges of it all lies a mystery. There are some thoughts we will never untangle here on this side of eternity. It most often requires a trip to the other side to gain contentment with God’s greatness. The sooner we learn to love his mystery, the sooner we can live at peace with life in all its unpredictability. 

There comes a moment for all true seekers of truth when we realize we cannot know it all, and this is just as fine as fine can be. When we know God for who he is, we can more wisely approach the varied matters of life and living. We can entrust our ignorance and our miscomprehension to our Father in Heaven who holds us all in the palms of his hands. 

I don’t need to know it all because I can depend on the One who does. 

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I will trust God from the bottom of my heart.

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Our Father, better than knowing it all is knowing you. You are my all in all. I love what I know about you. I love what I’m learning. I am comfortable with the mystery beyond my understanding. Thank you for your patience with my ignorance. Thank you for loving me too much to allow me to continue in ignorance. Thank you for the adventure of learning more about you day by day. Amen.