I used to sometimes hear a song titled "Farther Along." The chorus said:
Farther along we'll know all about it,
Farther along we'll understand why;
Cheer up, don't worry, live in the sunshine,
We'll understand it all by and by.
The stanzas talked about temptations, trials, toil, death of loved ones, and seeming injustices with the comfort that someday, when Jesus takes us home to heaven, we'll understand it all.
The Bible does tell us to encourage and comfort one another with the truth that someday we'll be with God in heaven where there is no sorrow, pain, or death. It also assures us that although we only know in part now, "then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12). I'm sure a lot of things will make sense then that don't now and we'll know exponentially more than we do now.
But I don't know if we'll understand everything that God did and allowed while we were on earth. Because He will still be God and we still won't be. He is omniscient, and we will never be.
This is just speculation, but I think we'll experience something of what Job did. Throughout the book bearing his name, Job wished he could plead his case before God. When God finally spoke to Job, He really didn't answer his questions or tell him why he suffered what he did. He pretty much just shared how He took care of creation.
If you've ever wondered, as I have, what God's discussion of animals had to do with Job's suffering, Layton Talbert suggests in Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job, "By belaboring this point with Job, God unveils one of His divine qualities. The Lord is powerful and majestic and wise beyond man's comprehension, but He is also compassionate . . . even towards beasts. He talks as if He has intimate knowledge of their nature and needs because He does. That's the point" (p. 206).
Somehow that was enough for Job. He responded, ""I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. . . . I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:2, 5-6).
Even though Job's suffering wasn't explained to him, his encounter with God humbled him, silenced his questions, and inspired his worship.
I think it might be much the same for us.
I've often wondered if God will show us in heaven some of the behind-the-scenes activities of our time on earth: how a frustrating delay kept us from a fatal accident, how a closed door to a seemingly perfect opportunity guided us towards God's best. We see parts of such things now, the "edges of His ways," as Job said (26:14), but I am sure there is much more to God's working and guidance in our lives than we realize here.
We struggle to trust Him perfectly now. We know from His Word, from testimonies of others, and from our own experience that He is good, wise, kind, trustworthy and so much more.
But there is still much that doesn't make sense to us. Why that venture failed. Why our loved one died so early. Why that nagging disease that took up so much time, thought, and energy was part of His plan. We trust that He really does work all things together for those that love Him (Romans 8:28). But we still wonder why certain things happen as they do.
Perhaps God doesn't explain everything because He wants to increase our trust and dependence on Him. Perhaps we wouldn't understand even if He did explain, just as a child won't understand why he can't have ice cream before dinner or why he has to stop playing and go to bed. I love what John Piper wrote in his poetic version of Job, The Misery of Job and the Mercy of God: "Beware, Jemimah, God is kind, In ways that will not fit your mind."
Elisabeth Elliot wrote in On Asking God Why:
There are those who insist that it is a very bad thing to question God. To them, "why?" is a rude question. That depends, I believe, on whether it is an honest search, in faith, for his meaning, or whether it is a challenge of unbelief and rebellion. The psalmist often questioned God and so did Job. God did not answer the questions, but he answered the man--with the mystery of himself.
He has not left us entirely in the dark. We know a great deal more about his purposes than poor old Job did, yet Job trusted him. He is not only the Almighty--Job's favorite name for him. He is also our Father, and what a father does is not by any means always understood by the child. If he loves the child, however, the child trusts him. It is the child's ultimate good that the father has in mind. Terribly elementary. Yet I have to be reminded of this when, for example, my friend suffers, when a book I think I can't possibly do without is lost, when a manuscript is worthless.
"God did not answer the questions, but he answered the man--with the mystery of himself."
I don't know if we'll ever understand all the mystery of God, even in heaven. But when we see Him, we'll be "lost in wonder, love, and praise," as the hymn says.
When we see Him, whatever doesn't make sense to us here won't matter. Our faith will be sight. Our trust will be perfect.
May we be growing toward more perfect trust even now as we behold Him through His Word.
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