What We Can’t Know

Thanks to the internet and the wealth of information at our fingertips, there are very few facts in this world that can’t be learned. We can read things that people wrote thousands of years ago, and we can read things that people wrote this morning, and in all of it, we can know a great many things. We can watch documentaries and listen to podcasts, view great art, hear the most complicated and beautiful music ever written, learn the history of rock n roll, and discover what Elvis’ favorite lunch was. There is really no end to the facts and theories and ideas that we can be exposed to. But one thing we can’t know for sure is what’s going to happen tomorrow.

That’s a real dilemma for human hearts because we like to take all that knowledge we have and cling to it so that we feel reasonably sure of what tomorrow will look like. But the reality is that only God knows. Tomorrow could hold a happy surprise or a shocking revelation or a devastating development. Everything about life could change tomorrow. Life itself could end tomorrow, or it could be another nondescript day. We just don’t know.

God has a way of drawing us to Himself in this uncertainty. A few nights ago I went to bed with a nagging fear in my heart about what tomorrow may hold, and as the old hymn says, where could I go but to the Lord? In His mercy, He only shows us one step at a time on the path we’re walking, and as each new sun rises, we have another opportunity to trust Him with the unknowns of that day. It doesn’t mean that He is only trustworthy if He orchestrates everything according to our requests. His trustworthiness is also found in much deeper places, when He walks with us through the things we didn’t want to happen.

Tomorrows will keep coming, each with their own surprises and disappointments. If what I can’t know keeps me close to my God, praying, seeking His will and His mercy, trusting in His wisdom, depending on His goodness to see me through whatever comes next, then I’m glad for the mysteries that sometimes keep me up at night. I don’t want to live in fear or worry, but when the question of tomorrow causes me to tremble, it’s wonderful to know that He invites me to cast my cares on Him.

A fearful heart like mine feels freedom when I remember that. Tomorrow is in His hands. I don’t have to know anything more.

Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7