Not Now

Don't you love it when God gives you one of those "Aha!" moments? I had one just this morning.

I was reading a passage I've probably read a hundred times before, but this time a verse jumped out at me.

“You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

How many times have you asked God,
"What are you thinking?"
"Why would you do this?"
"What's going on here?"

Did you know He already gave you this answer? “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

You might be surprised to know where I found this verse. It's from John 13, when Jesus was washing the disciples' feet. Peter refused to let Jesus wash his feet. That's when Jesus said, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Instead of saying, "Ok, I trust you," Peter came up with a better idea - wash all of me!

Don't we do the same thing? When we don't understand something God is doing, we refuse to submit to the Lord, or we tell Him we have a better plan.

In those times when God doesn't make sense, what does He desire from us?
Trust
Submit
Do it His way
Trust

That's what Jesus wanted from Peter. I believe that's what He wants from us.

I don't think this verse is necessarily a promise that we'll always get an explanation from God or always understand what He's doing. But I do think it gives us a helpful principle. Many times God asks us to trust Him Now. And to wait for understanding to come later.

And when it comes, we'll know that it was worth the wait. =)

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