Contemplative Bible Reading

Ecclesiastes 8:17 (New Living Translation)

17 I realized that no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim.

There is much about God that I do not understand. That is part of God being God and me not being God. Why doesn’t God heal this person? Why doesn’t God cause a leader’s heart to end a war? It is a blessing that God gives us the mind to have these questions (another topic for another day).

And here we have it right in front of us in an ancient text. No one can discover everything God is doing here on earth. “No one” excludes me, too.

But I am a good guy. I am a good Christian. Surely, God will reveal to me… Nope. God will reveal to me some things. God will reveal to me the things I can handle rightly. God will withhold those things that are just too much for me. And God will choose correctly, no matter how much that frustrates me.

Please God, help me in my unbelief.