Accepting God’s Work

by Doy Moyer

God doesn’t need our defense (as though He needed anything (Acts 17:25)). When we accept God in total — that, for example, He is all-knowing, all-wise, all-understanding, all-powerful, all-loving, all-just, all-gracious, all-righteous, all-good, owner of life and death, etc. — then we won’t feel like He owes us explanations for everything He does. He is not amenable to us. When we accept God for who He is, then we can trust that He knows what He is doing and that He has good reasons for whatever He does. Just because we do not understand something does not, therefore, mean that God doesn’t know what He is doing or that He is doing something wrong. That attitude places us above Him and makes us gods.

Many want to accept God only on their own terms and only if we can understand every action and thought of God. But if that were the case, then we would be God. As Miles Davis is credited with saying, “If you understood everything I say, you’d be me.” Likewise, if we fully understood God, we’d be Him. But we aren’t, so we need to quit giving God ultimatums as if we have authority over Him.

Once we accept God for who He is in His total and complete character, many problems dissipate because we can trust that He knows what He is doing and that He will always do what is right. If we can’t do that, then we are assuming a standard above Him of our own making and then judging Him for the way we think He ought to be. The finite judging the infinite is not a good look. We are far too limited to put ourselves in that position, but it would seem that our arrogance won’t keep us from trying to do just that. No, if God doesn’t act according to our standards, then we feel free to reject Him. Don’t expect God to be impressed by our reasoning.

The preacher’s warning here is always relevant: “Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2).