When You Don't Understand What God Is Doing
By Joseph Cutler
Strong faith isn't having all the answers; it's trusting God's heart when you can't see His hand.
There are times when trusting God would seem much easier if He would just explain what He is doing.
Why did this happen?
Why did that door close?
Why hasn't the prayer been answered?
Why did something that seemed so right fall apart?
Why am I going through this?
Why now?
And maybe the hardest question of all:
God, what are You doing?
If you've ever asked that question, you're not alone.
The Bible is filled with people who trusted God but didn't always understand what He was doing.
And that's important because sometimes we mistakenly think strong faith means having all the answers.
It doesn't.
Sometimes strong faith simply means trusting God when we don't have the answers.
Proverbs 3:5–6 says:
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
I think one of the hardest parts of that verse is:
“Lean not unto thine own understanding.”
We like understanding.
We want the pieces to fit together.
We want cause and effect.
We want to know why.
And if possible, we'd like God to give us the entire plan before asking us to take the next step.
But that's usually not how faith works.
Faith often requires us to take the next step while we can only see part of the road.
Isaiah 55:8–9 reminds us:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”
That doesn't mean God is unreasonable.
It means our perspective is limited and His isn't.
We see this moment.
God sees the whole story.
We see the closed door.
God sees where every road leads.
We see what we've lost.
God sees what He is still doing.
We see today.
God sees eternity.
That's why Romans 8:28 has encouraged so many people:
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God…”
Notice what that verse does not say.
It doesn't say all things are good.
Some things hurt.
Some things are wrong.
Some things break our hearts.
Some things happen that we would never choose.
The promise is not that everything that happens is good.
The promise is that God is able to work in and through all things according to His purposes.
Sometimes we eventually look back and understand.
Sometimes we see why the door closed.
Sometimes we discover why we had to wait.
Sometimes something that felt like rejection turns out to have been protection.
But there will also be things we may never completely understand in this life.
That's where trust becomes especially important.
You don't have to understand everything about God to trust the character of God.
You can say:
“Lord, I don't understand this, but I still trust You.”
That's not weak faith.
That may be one of the strongest expressions of faith you can make.
Maybe today you need to stop demanding an explanation before you'll take the next step.
Ask God for wisdom.
Search His Word.
Listen.
Pray.
Seek wise counsel when you need it.
Do what you know is right.
And when you've done everything you know to do, trust Him with what you still don't understand.
God doesn't need you to see the entire road.
He asks you to trust the One who does.
God's Word When You Don't Understand
Trust God wholeheartedly rather than depending entirely upon your own understanding.
God's thoughts and ways are higher than ours.
God promises instruction and guidance.
God is able to work through all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Part of that good is God's work of conforming His people to the image of Christ.
The Christian life is ultimately lived by faith rather than by sight.
What I Want You to Remember
You don't have to understand everything God is doing in order to trust who God is.
Understanding asks:
“Why?”
Faith sometimes has to answer:
“I don't know yet, but I still trust You.”
Make It Personal
I do not understand everything happening in my life right now.
But God sees what I cannot see.
God knows what I do not know.
I will ask Him for wisdom.
I will follow what His Word clearly teaches.
I will take the next faithful step.
And I will trust Him with the parts of the story I cannot understand.
Let's Pray
Father, I don't understand what is happening right now.
There are questions I wish You would answer.
There are things I would change if I could.
There are parts of this situation that simply don't make sense to me.
But today I choose to trust You.
Give me wisdom for the things I need to understand.
Give me direction for the steps I need to take.
And give me faith for the things I may not understand yet.
Keep me from becoming bitter because I don't have all the answers.
Help me remember that Your view is greater than mine.
Take what I cannot understand and somehow use it for Your purposes and for my growth.
I don't know the whole story.
But I know You.
And today, that is enough for me to take the next step.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
My Response
What are you having the hardest time understanding right now?
Write it honestly.
Then finish this sentence:
“God, I don't understand ____________________, but I choose to trust You with it.”
Now ask:
Is there a next step I already know I should take?
Don't wait for every answer before doing what God has already made clear.
Add your response to My Devotional Journal.
My Final Thought
You may eventually understand why you're walking through this.
And you may not.
But don't let the absence of an explanation become the absence of your trust.
You don't have to see ten miles down the road.
You only need enough light for the next step.
So when you can't understand God's hand, keep trusting His heart.
When you can't see what He's doing, keep doing what you know is right.
When the pieces don't fit together, remember that you're looking at only part of the picture.
God sees the whole thing.
Take the next step.
And trust Him with the rest.
Related thoughts
God is infinitely greater than our finite comprehension, and embracing this mystery invites us into a dynamic, ever-unfolding relationship with Him rather than a static understanding.
Life has seasons of 'red, yellow, and green lights' that are part of a greater, purposeful rhythm. Finding peace means trusting this rhythm and using each season constructively, especially the pauses.
