Above My Pay Grade!

We like things that we can study, know and understand.  Sometimes we find it difficult to accept that there are things that might be hidden from our knowledge and understanding.

The Scriptures indicate that there are some things hidden by design:  “The Lord our God keeps certain things hidden. But he makes other things known to us and to our children forever. He does it so we can obey all the words of this law.”  (Deut 29:29)

Some versions of the Bible translate the hidden things as “secret things”.  Regardless, there are things which have been revealed and things which are kept hidden from us and remain secret.

We may chafe at having to deal with the fact that some things remain hidden, but that’s often when faith and trust come in.  The Psalmist wrote:  “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.”  (Ps 131:1)

The Psalmist seem to realize that there are things just too great and too marvelous for him and he was content to not be occupied with them.

In another Psalm, the Psalmist wrote that there are things that are beyond our comprehension:   “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot comprehend it.”  (Ps 139:6)

The Psalmist was saying that things were, in today’s wording, above his pay grade.

We can even sometimes find ourselves at a loss when we think we know more than we actually do know:  “‘Who is this who conceals advice without knowledge?’ Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I do not know.”  (Job 42:3)

While it pains us to admit it, there is knowledge that would be too much for us to grasp and understand.  And if we speak about it in ignorance, we probably aren’t doing ourselves any favors.

For us, and for our sake, God has revealed that which is important for us to know.  And while there are other important and even wonderful things that God has chosen not to reveal to us, it’s for our benefit that they remain hidden.  Of great benefit to us is the opportunity to accept them by faith and the opportunity to trust God that He knows what we should know and what we shouldn’t know.