“Would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.” Psalm 44:21
Today, I want to share a little thought—which is really a humongous thought—about the omniscience of God. He knows all things. From the most insignificant factoid to the intrigues of profound concepts, God not only knows about them, He knows the who, what, where, when, why and how of them all. David said, “O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.” Psalm 139:1-3. Intellectually, believers grasp this. From a practical standpoint, we are either clueless or maddingly forgetful.
All of life originates in the space between our ears. The philosopher said, “I think, therefore I am.” Our words, actions, intentions, plans, imaginations—everything proceeds out of our brains. Some brains are more active than others; some brains follow more complex algorithms than others; some brains possess a greater capacity to entertain thoughts than others. But all brains expose humans to the crippling danger of egotism. That is, we all think we are right. Even when we are wrong, we find a way to justify our initial thinking. That’s why we question God. We insist on comparing our logic to His. We subject His infinite knowledge to our finite understanding. I don’t know how many times I’ve said, “Well, that’s a question I’m going to have to ask God when I get to heaven!” (I’m sure God trembles in His boots at the prospect of the confrontation!)
Know this: God’s omnipotence operates as a function of His omniscience. He knows, therefore He acts! When He acts, it is because He knows that’s the best action to take. When He doesn’t act, it is because He knows that the action is wrong or ineffective. Humans don’t have access to that kind or that level of knowledge. In fact, the more I understand God, the less I understand God. Our problem is that we fail to come to grips with our limited and/or faulty understanding. We lament, as did the sisters of Lazarus, why Jesus didn’t show up earlier, why He allowed someone to die, why He seemed to disregard the feelings and welfare of others, or why He didn’t follow our line of reasoning instead of His own.
We often deny and criticize God’s actions. Instead, we must learn to accept and rejoice in what He does because He acts out of his omniscience. Don’t be offended that God didn’t tell you why He acted a certain way. You wouldn’t have understood anyway. Take comfort in the idea that He knows what is best. Remember, His omniscience and omnipotence, as well as all His attributes, exist in perfection. If my life is in the hands of a perfect God who loves me, then my only recourse is trust!
‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word
Just to rest upon His promise,
Just to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”