Three Simple Reasons Why God Doesn’t Provide All the Details
Our home builders provided us with Buildertrend, an app that keeps us informed about the building schedule. The app, Buildertrend, provides access to important documents, photos of daily activity and more. When I open the app, I easily identify what the builders intend to do on any given day until we move in. In addition, I can look ahead and know which week requires a necessary walk-through with a sub-contractor.
Buildertrend lays out all the steps for our new home. I see the big picture, and I know if weather causes delays, I have the ability to view how the plan is adapted. Because I have an assurance of how things are moving forward, I am confident and relaxed about the building of my house.
Wanting to Be In the Know
We all feel we have some sort of control when we comprehend the steps to accomplish a task or a project. When we are “in the know” about an upcoming procedure or process, we feel significant and valued. We want the information about what is happening next, …and next, …and next, so we don’t miss anything important or fun.
Have you ever noticed; God doesn’t tend to lay out a schedule for us. I have never received a fully written plan of events from Jesus. Not once. When we look at scripture, we read the story of God telling Abram to go, but not specifically where. Job didn’t know all that was going on behind the scenes of his life. Plus, God was silent during the four hundred years preceding Jesus’ birth.
Saul’s Next Step
In Acts 22, when Saul/Paul asked, “What should I do, Lord?” Christ’s response is simple. Almost too simple. “Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything that you have been assigned to do.” (Acts 22:10)
God doesn’t tell Saul/Paul where to go in Damascus. He doesn’t inform Saul who will tell him the necessary information. God doesn’t even hint at what Saul’s assignment will be. Saul moves toward town, hoping he ends up where he needs to be.
God didn’t provide Saul/Paul with anything like our Buildertrend app. Instead, God basically tells Saul, “we’ll let you know.” I wondered why. Why doesn’t God lay out all the details?
God Wants our Trust
One reason God doesn’t lay out all the details for Saul/Paul, or for us, is He wants our trust. When you read the story of Saul/Paul’s encounter on the Damascus Road in Acts 9 and Acts 22, you discover God is working in the life of Ananias while he is working in the life of Saul.
God asked Ananias to go to Saul and heal his blindness. However, Ananias tells God he had heard of the terrible things Saul was doing to believers. God affirms to Ananias Saul is His choice to do amazing things for His Kingdom, challenging Ananias to trust His plan to use someone unimaginable.
God works and moves even when we can’t grasp what He is doing. Abram believed and trusted God and God credited it to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:3). Paul tells us in Ephesians 3:17, “Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.” Trust anchors us in God, and with God.
God Wants Us to Depend on Him
A second reason God doesn’t lay out all the details is He wants our dependency. After Saul encountered Jesus on the Damascus Road, he was blind and guided by a friend into Damascus. Luke informs us in Acts 9:9 that Saul was blind for three days before Ananias healed him by the power of Jesus.
Saul was someone who took charge and got things done. God placed him in a circumstance where he was dependent on others to get around, and unsure if he would ever see again. The Lord wanted Saul to grasp He was in control, not Saul. Jesus wants us to understand the same truth.
I know I have used trust and dependence interchangeably before. However, I now believe dependency is a step beyond trust. For example, I trust my sweet Pastor husband to encourage and support me. I do not depend on him to be my only source of emotional strength. God, on the other hand, wants us not only to trust Him, but to be the One we depend on for all things.
God Wants to Be Lord
The final reason I see why God doesn’t lay out all the details is He wants to be our Lord. After Ananias heals Saul, he gives him his next step. “What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.” Acts 22:16, NLT
Christ officially turned Saul/Paul’s life upside down. Remember, Saul was a Pharisee. He believed in the Law, and that the Law was the way to God. Jesus was asking Saul to believe He was the promised Messiah even though Jesus wasn’t the Messiah Saul was expecting. Saul had to release being in control, release being the one with the knowledge, and allow Christ to be Lord over his life. Only then, does God provide the next step in Saul/Paul’s journey.
Jesus refers to Deuteronomy 6:13 when Satan tempted Him. “…Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.” (Luke 4:8, CSB) Jesus reminds us when we declare Him Lord, He is the One we worship, and the One we serve. We place Christ as the reigning King over every aspect of our lives.
Choose to Wait, to Know the Lord
Buildertrend has eased much of our new home building stress. However, I still have moments when I am overwhelmed. I struggle to plan furniture placement, or decide what is necessary to purchase, when there isn’t an actual physical space to explore. I admit, I’ve tried to move ahead where I don’t yet have enough information.
God has prompted me many times to wait, reminding me it isn’t time for that particular step. I must choose whether I will demand control or trust who He is. I must depend on Him to know what is best and do what is best, even if it doesn’t make sense to me in the moment. The only way to trust God, and fully depend on Him, is to proclaim Him Lord over your life.
God was with Abraham, Job, David, and Saul/Paul every step of their lives. He orchestrated amazing adventures and blessings for each of them. They each chose to trust, depend on, and declare Him Lord. They released control of knowing each step and chose to intimately know The Almighty instead.
