Daily Devotional

Today my 7-year-old daughter asked me a question; “How has God always been there?” As we discussed this her response kept coming back to, “But I don’t understand.” We continued to talk, and I explained that there are simply some things that we won’t understand about God because His ways are higher than our ways.

I love studying God’s Word and digging deeper and deeper into it. I’m constantly amazed at how I can always learn something new, even about a passage I’ve read countless times. But even with all that prodding and research there will always be things about God that we simply do not know or understand. I actually find that to be a rather reassuring thing. A God we can fully understand wouldn’t be much of a God at all.

I think Greek and Roman mythology is fascinating, not because I think it’s remotely true, but because it showcases so clearly what a god designed by humanity would look like. The gods of the Greek and Roman pantheon are greedy, selfish, vengeful, deceptive, and to put it simply, mean. Frankly, they look a lot like how a human would behave with unbridled power. The thing about those false gods is that we can completely understand their actions and motivations.

When it comes to the one true God of the Bible, it’s a different story. Rather than understand everything about this God we find that there is much we don’t understand. Even the things that are explained to us, like grace, we have a hard time wrapping our minds around because it is so contrary to our normal human inclinations. Rather than a selfish deity, we see a God who wrapped Himself in flesh and gave Himself selflessly. Rather than a distant god, we see a God who is intimately aware of all that we go through and present with us through it all. Rather than a powerful being who is only concerned with himself, we see a God that loves so greatly and made a way for us to be with Him in eternity.

I am so glad that God’s ways are above our own! We as humans could never have come up with a God this good, kind, selfless, and loving.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.