LYDIA PINONTOAN | GUEST

I’m coming out of one of those life stages when “How are you?” feels like a complicated question.

From the outside, strangers and acquaintances might get the idea that our life is picture perfect. We’re happily married with an adorably precocious 18-month-old, a well-providing job, a beautiful home, and wonderful friends.

But what they can’t see is the hidden loss, both personally and in our community, that we just can’t escape. They don’t see the questions swirling in my mind and wafting their way up to the Lord.

So, when they say, “How are you?” usually my answer is, “We’re doing alright.”

Yet I know that God sees the depths of my heart. He hears the questions, and though He may not always provide the specific answers I’m looking for, He always provides the comfort I need.

Recently, that comfort has been conveyed through the poetry of the Psalms, particularly Psalm 131, as God has reminded me in my frustration with the unknown that I don’t need to know everything. Or more accurately, I should not know everything, because, by His good design, God is the all-knowing Creator, and I am the little-knowing creature.

A Song of Ascents. Of David. O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 131:1-3)

Verse 1: Reaching

As this Psalm opens, David uses poetic language to communicate the same truth three ways—like looking at one statue from three different angles:

1. My heart is not lifted up;
2. My eyes are not raised too high;
3. I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.

David comes to the Lord with humility of heart, eyes, and mind. He recognizes that God is the limitless Creator, and he (David) is the limited creature. If I were to put verse 1 in my own words I’d say, “Oh Lord, You are God and I am not. I will not grasp for the things that You have placed out of my reach.”

But, if I’m honest, that’s exactly what I’m tempted to do as I grapple with my questions. Rather than humbly leaving the unknown in God’s hands, it’s so easy to grumble and demand answers that God has not seen fit to give. I reach to know the future. I reach to know why God has allowed this particular suffering. I’m tempted to believe that this knowledge is what I’m missing—that if I found all the answers, somehow I would find lasting peace.

But David shows us a better way. He stops reaching for the hidden things that belong only to our God (Deut. 29:29) and embraces the limitations placed on him as God’s creature. And, as we come to see in verse 2, this is where he finds true rest.

Verse 2: Resting

David says his soul is like a weaned child with his mother. Unlike a breastfeeding newborn who is comforted only by the milk his mother provides, a weaned child finds rest simply in her presence. Likewise, David’s soul finds perfect rest simply by coming into the presence of God. He doesn’t demand answers. He’s not seeking hidden knowledge. He comes to God and finds that God is enough.

That same rest can be found by all who are in Christ. Though we deserve God’s just condemnation for our sin, Jesus opened the way for us to find pure rest in the presence of God through His death and resurrection. Now, when storms of life rage—when the questions echo in the silence of our suffering—we can rest in the very presence of the God of the universe. And we can have confidence, knowing that if God did not spare His own Son in His plan to redeem us from our sin, He will not withhold from us any good thing (Ps. 84:11; Rom. 8:32).

As we stop demanding answers and start worshipping the One who is concealing them for our good, our biggest questions turn into the biggest opportunities for worship. We can find our hearts joining with the Apostle Paul when he said,

Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? And who has ever given to God, that he should be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. (Rom. 11:33-36)

Verse 3: Recounting His Faithfulness

Finally, David’s upward and inward reflections turn to an outward call to the people of Israel to put their hope in the Lord. In the midst of questions and uncertainties, David found refuge and rest in God. Then from that place of rest, he was able to invite Israel to do the same.

So it is with us. What kind of witness would it be if we were to simply be content with not knowing—with leaving things in the hands of God—with trusting that He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and that He is working all things for His glory and the good of His people?

As we choose to surrender our unanswered questions before the Lord—as we find rest in Him alone and not the answers we so desperately desire—we will be in a position to invite those around us to do the same.

No matter how you’d answer the “How are you?” question today—no matter how many unanswered questions you’re carrying—I invite you to join me in my attempt to walk in the footsteps of King David. Let’s stop reaching for that which God has concealed. Let’s start resting in the presence of our God who is always enough. Let’s recount His faithfulness and put on display the sufficiency of God as we surrender all the unknowns to Him.

Let’s hope in the Lord, from this time forth and forevermore.

Photo by Jens Lelie on Unsplash