It’s funny the things we say flippantly that contain nuggets of truth. I thought of this recently when I heard someone utter the words “God only knows why.” I can’t even remember what they were talking about, but it made me stop and think. We say these words sometimes as a means of acknowledging the unpredictable aspects of life. We excuse our crazy neighbor’s behavior by positing that because there doesn’t appear to be an Earthly reason why they would act that way, perhaps there’s a celestial one. We use it as an excuse for our forgetfulness, our missteps, and our inadequacies. “God only knows” we say, in our exasperation with life.
Despite the gravity we fail to assign to these words, they are seriously true. God does only know. He alone knows really why things turn out the way that they do, He alone knows why people are they way they are. He knows the depths of our hearts, and the intricacies of the planet for He created both. While I may struggle with my lack of understanding, wanting to anticipate and explain the mysteries of life, I can take comfort in the fact that even when I do think I understand, only God knows the whole story. He alone knows the purposes and the plans He has designed and He knows how the mundane and the tragic work to accomplish them. When I’m faced with what I do not understand, I can trust that He does, and He knows just how He will use it in my life for His ultimate glory.