Today's Devotional:
The Upper Room Daily Devotional "Secret Things" for Thursday, 28 May 2015 - Scripture: Deuteronomy 29:2 (3) the great testings which you saw with your own eyes, and the signs and those great wonders. 3 (4) Nevertheless, to this day Adonai has not given you a heart to understand, eyes to see or ears to hear! 4 (5) I led you forty years in the desert. Neither the clothes on your body nor the shoes on your feet wore out. 5 (6) You didn’t eat bread, and you didn’t drink wine or other intoxicating liquor; this was so that you would know that ‘I am Adonai your God.’ (Maftir) 6 (7) When you arrived at this place, Sichon the king of Heshbon and ‘Og the king of Bashan advanced against us in battle, and we defeated them,29 The Lord our God hasn’t explained the present or the future, but he has commanded us to obey the laws he gave to us and our descendants.
The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever, to observe all the words of this law.[Deuteronomy 29:29 (NRSV)]
When I went away to college, I discovered many new ideas. As a very earnest young Christian, I struggled to reconcile the new things I was learning — especially in philosophy and religion classes — with the simple doctrines and slogans I had been taught in church. When I questioned my minister about my struggles, his advice was that I should just avoid thinking about such things.
My grandmother lived with us, and one day when I was home between school terms, her pastor came to visit. He asked how school was going. I said, “Fine.” But he must have sensed something in my voice because he dug deeper and engaged me in real conversation about my questions and struggles. Finally, he quoted to me the words of Deuteronomy 29:29.
The words of this verse spoke to me deeply and suggested to me that it is okay not to know everything. Some things are “secret things,” things that will always remain a mystery. It is good to question, to explore new ideas, to expand our minds as far as we can. But some questions will never be settled with a final answer. No matter how smart we are or how educated we become, we will reach a point where intellect can take us no further. At that point, we can rely on faith, hope, and love to carry us the rest of the way.
The Author: David Fillingim (North Carolina, USA)
Thought for the Day: God’s majesty is beyond human understanding.
Prayer: Dear God, grant us wisdom as we explore the mysteries of your universe, and help us to be faithful in following you. Amen.
Prayer focus: Christian Scholars
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