Secret Things Belong to God

Did you know you can trust God even when you don’t know what He is doing? Even when we can’t understand what is going on in our lives, we know that His plans are good. We can rest knowing that the secret things belong to God.

 When my daughter was five years old, I planned a surprise birthday for her complete with a themed birthday cake and decorations galore. Gifts were stacked on the table all wrapped in shiny pink paper and big bright bows. Nothing was spared to make her day extra special. 

Hushed whispers filled the air as all her little friends and family packed the room. Everyone tried to be still ready to yell surprise as soon as she came through the door. This mom just knew she was going to be so excited. However, things didn’t go at all as planned even after all the tireless planning.

She suspiciously looked around to all in attendance and wanted no part of the party and gifts. She quickly folded her arms and angrily spoke through her tiny tears the words,  “Everyone knew about the party but me!” She was furious that we had kept the party a secret and nothing we could do would change her mind.

She couldn’t understand from the experience in her all but five years that the party was planned out of love for her. Instead, she was convinced that she had been left out of all the fun that everyone else got to enjoy. And to her that wasn’t fair.

Perhaps the worst part of the entire fiasco was that her Mom and Dad had been part of the betrayal.  Needless to say, this Mom never planned another surprise party again. 

Can I tell you I hate secrets too?

Can I also tell you that I have spent time doing my own arm folding to God when I have thought He was keeping his plans from me? 

When I can’t see all the details of what He is doing, it is sometimes hard to understand that all the hard things that I am facing are the  “all things” he promised to work for good in my life. 

For a girl who likes to control all her outcomes, not knowing all of the details can sometimes lead me to becoming discouraged. And discouragement has this way of leading my ever wandering heart down the path of doubt and mistrust. 

Why do I do that? Simply, because I not only long to understand all of it. All the whys, how’s and what fors. But I also want to control my outcomes. And when I can’t, it can quickly become a trust issue. Ouch. 

I wrestle with the question, “Why does God do what he does when I so desperately want him to to do the things I want Him to do?” The things I have pleaded for from a place of a broken heart and with tears streaming down my face that just don’t happen are sometimes too much to put a bumper sticker of understanding on.

I want to understand all the times and seasons of my life and the lives of my family whom I so love. I long to understand his timing when it seems all I do is wait and then wait some more. 

I want to make sense of why God raises up some while others are torn down. Why some are blessed with such seemingly happy full lives while others suffer?

Why he allows situations to progress to the point of causing pain. All the while he has the power to move, change and release all the power of Heaven to work things out in a much more pleasant way to those He calls His children?

Yes, all those secret things of God I want Him to let me in on. Because when it feels He is keeping things from me at the most difficult times in my life, it becomes painful.

But I can humbly say, that for every secret thing that God has kept from me He has lovingly opened my understanding to others.

In seeking an answer to my questions, I found it comforting to me to discover that I am not alone in my arm folding and questioning. There was a man in the Bible who also wrestled with trusting God with the secret things too. A man named Daniel.  

God comforted Daniel in his struggle to understand.  He took the time to personally explain to him that it isn’t meant for us to understand and have knowledge of everything. That the secret things do indeed belong to Him. 

It is recorded in scripture that God had his own conversation with Daniel when his heart was searching for his own answers. He lovingly told Daniel, “And you? Go about your business without fretting or worrying. Relax. When it’s all over, you will be on your feet to receive your reward.” Daniel 12:13 (The Message)

In other words, God simply told Daniel “leave all the details to me.” He would take care of all of it.  And then He added this: “Daniel, you can trust me with the outcome.” And to this girl, outcomes are important. Y’All I just want to know all the hard life stuff I’m going through is for a reason and has a purpose.  Anybody? 

I am learning that He knows about my ever searching heart.

He just simply wants me to learn to be the child and let Him be in charge of doing all the planning and working things out for my good like good Fathers do.

He wants to plan for all of it. From the day to day stuff, overwhelming world event things and even for the hard things that my heart so wrestles with when they cause me pain.

I am also learning, just like Daniel, that I can trust Him enough to not fret and worry.  I can rest and walk away leaving it all with him even during the times I don’t have the answers I’m so longing for. 

He perhaps keeps me from all His secret things and plans because He wants to surprise me with some good things of my own. He doesn’t not include me in the secret things just to keep me “out” but that by keeping me from worrying and fretting about things I can’t change is His way of keeping me “in” peace.  So can I share this word of encouragement with you and maybe help you do a little unfolding of your own arms today.

Lean in and allow me to whisper this good news in your ear to let you in on something special. You know that secret thing that you are so wrestling with trying hard to make sense of and understand? That thing that you feel that He is keeping you in the dark about and even that thing that makes you question His goodness for you? Friend, he loves you enough to plan all the details of your life so you don’t have to. 

Yes, there are secret things that belong to God. But perhaps the most important thing of all He chose to make known to us. He loves you and me. Period. And He hung that love boldly like a banner upon a cross and nailed it there for the whole wide world to see. Take comfort. He won’t take it back either. We have His glorious resurrection as proof of that. 

So don’t fret and worry. Try to just relax. Then walk away from trying to figure out all the details. Take heart that in the end all things will work out for your good. Trust Him with the rest and then…..leave the secret things to God. 

See ya in the Field,

Susan