As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
Ecclesiastes 11:5 (ESV)
We all want to know everything!
We want to know what is happening in the Israel-Hamas conflict. We want to find out whether or not we have passed the board exam we recently took. We want to be certain whether the job or career path we took is the right one. We feel we need to find out if the person we are about to marry is the right one for us. We want to know whether or not we will have children, and will our children grow up in the faith or fall away. In short, as much as it concerns us, we want to know the answer to our every question or concern.
That’s why not knowing can cause us to fear, to be anxious, and to be deeply troubled. Sometimes, we feel like a ticking time-bomb is planted in our hearts while searching for your name in the list of board passers. Sitting at the waiting area while waiting for the doctor to call you to announce the diagnosis of your illness could feel like you are heading towards a car-crash involving 15 vehicles in the Expressway. Seeing your child grow up in this world of confusion, where people no longer know what a woman (or a man) is, could be bringing up feelings of butterflies flying at 100 kilometers per hour in your stomach – not a very good feeling. Yet the thing is, these things are later unveiled to us – and that can result in immediate relief (like a cold water in a hot sunny day), or in further anxiety, depending on the revelation.
Our problem increases on the other hand with questions we have that we won’t find the answer in this lifetime. Very often, these are the “why” questions. Why did I not pass my exam when I reviewed for it like a madman (or madwoman)? Why did God allow me to fall in love with a man who would eventually ruin my life and break my heart? Why did we not have children, despite being faithful in the ministry? These why questions are more difficult to handle and deal with. They often express the deepest fears of our hearts, are the most painful experiences we have, and are often not answered in our lifetime.
The unanswered questions of our deepest burdens can often lead to two things – deep anxiety or a distinct angst against God. Not knowing can lead us to wake up day by day feeling super-duper anxious, worried that we might not have the strength nor joy to continue for the day. It also often brings out a heart of constant murmuring or complaining about menial things, while blaming our foul mood on the anxiety we feel. At worse, not knowing has led some to draw near to God with questions, but immediately drawing conclusions between “He does not answer” to “He does not really care about me.”
Yet, why does God choose to reveal certain things and not other things? Deuteronomy 29:29 can help us understand this. The people of Israel, the one God loved and chosen as His people, were told that there are certain things that belong to God alone, and certain knowledge that belongs to them as He has given it to them. God, in His goodness and kindness to them, told them, “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.” (Deut. 29:29). The same God who said such words to His beloved people then is saying the same words to His beloved people today, that they may walk in His wise and good ways.
The question is, which things belongs to God, and which things belongs to us? Isn’t it my right to know the result of my
In the wisdom of God given to the author of Ecclesiastes, we are given a sobering answer:
As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
Ecclesiastes 11:5 (ESV)
First He tells us that there are certain things in His natural world that we will not know. The example He gives is how life begins in the womb of the mother. He says that we “do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child.” He is not saying that we don’t know the biological and scientifical processes of how a sperm and an egg combines to produce offspring. Nor does he say that we won’t know when life begins, whether in conception or when it is a fetus. What God is saying is that we don’t know how a child in a womb has life. We don’t know how the spirit comes to the child, to turn it from a non-living being to a living human being. Though we see the outcome day to day, we don’t see how it happens.
This brings us to the second area that we will never know: the work of God who makes everything. We know that God makes everything! We see the results of his handiworks day to day, from the blistering sunrise in a summer morning shining light to the lush greenery, serene air, and walking people and dogs around us. We also see the results of His gracious saving work, that a sinner like you in me rotting deep down in our sin in our past life, is now raising our hands in gratitude towards the God who saved us. We see the results. However, we don’t see the work itself.
We don’t see the hand working in growing a child from a toddler to a teenager the same way we see a carpenter building his furniture. We don’t see a hand working in changing the heart of an unbeliever to be a genuine follower of Christ, the same way we see a hand shaping a pottery in a pottery class. This means, we don’t see the hand of God at work even while He is working, but what we eventually see are the fruits of His work – the grown child, the changed life, the answered prayer.
Why is this proverbial wisdom necessary for us? Very often, we only believe God is working when we see the results of His work. We only believe God is working when our health diagnoses return back normal and healthy. We only believe God is working when the family member we are sharing the Gospel to receives Christ as Lord and Savior. This also means, we don’t believe God is working when the health results come back negative, or when the unbeliever remains an unbeliever. This is wrong, and we need to repent.
The words from Ecclesiastes both rebukes us and comforts us. It rebukes us from conflating God’s working with the outcome of His Work. Just because we cannot see the results we want doesn’t mean He is not working. His Work is not tied up to the immediacy of the result of the work! Just as it would be foolish to say that the artist is not working because the sculpture doesn’t look like a man yet, or a carpenter is not working because his woodwork doesn’t look like a table yet, it would be also foolish to say God is not working because the outcome we are hoping haven’t come about.
These words also comfort us, in that God, in His goodness and kindness, assures us that we don’t need to know His unrevealed process of work in order to rest in Him and trust Him. We don’t need to know how he plans to solve our problem, we need only to know that He will. We don’t need to be aware of His step by step strategy of bringing your wayward child from darkness to light, we only need to know that He who promised is faithful, and He will do it. Why? Though we don’t know ‘the work of God who makes everything,’ we know He is still the God who makes everything.
Also, He makes everything right.
As you read this, I’m sure there are things you are dying to know! I have questions for God too, about my life, His will for me. It is good to ask questions to God, He welcomes it. There is a difference between questions and doubt. Questions ask the person while trusting the answer (or non-answer) would be worthwhile. Doubt questions the person, placing assumptions about the person’s character and ability that are not true. So, yes, let us not doubt the God who has chosen to reveal certain things to us and not certain things to us. He is good, He is kind, and He loves you. Also, let us not be afraid to come before Him and ask our deepest questions, waiting faithfully for His answer.
While trusting His heart when He does not choose to answer.