“The Secret things belong to the LORD our God!”

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”(Deuteronomy 29:29 1:21-22 ESV)

A Pastor friend of mine shared with me that one day, early in the morning, the Lord spoke to his heart and directed him to Deuteronomy 29:29 and impressed upon him that God doesn’t reveal everything about our lives that we might like to know. For example, the day of our death, how about the person whom we will marry, God keeps a secret until the time is right for us to know, the list goes on. What type of work will we do when we grow up? Probably the most asked question of God is when will Jesus come back for His own?

Remember when Jesus told His disciples, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”  (Matt. 24:35-36) So, there are secrets that belong to the Lord our God and are not for us to know. However, we are curious people, aren’t we? Generally, we like to learn as much as possible about something so we can decide for ourselves if it is the best for us. I think that is our problem many times, we want to make all the decisions when it comes to our lives, and we don’t want to leave room for God to decide what, how, and where for us. We don’t trust Him, and continually ask why?

However, sometimes our “why” can be an accusation against God and really mean, “How dare you allow this to happen to ME!”. Asking “Why ME Lord” can be a chastisement to God for not remembering how many years we have faithfully served Him, and that we don’t deserve what is happening. As much as we don’t want to admit it out loud, some people think that God owes them success, good health, and protection from the sins of this world.

That is just not true, my friends! Honestly, our patient, loving, and faithful God doesn’t owe us anything. He didn’t owe us salvation, and He doesn’t owe us protection from the collateral damage of this sinful world. There are many questions about “why” things happen to believers, about the timing of problems, about sickness or loss of jobs. Many things in this life are a mystery to us, but they are not a mystery to God. Some things He keeps secret and doesn’t share with us.

God does what He does because, as Dr. Charles Swindoll says, “God is God, and I am not!” We must all come face to face with God’s sovereignty, and I believe that is what the first part of Deuteronomy 29:29 is all about. We must ask: Do we truly believe what the Bible says about the sovereignty of God? Do we really trust Him? Can we count on Him to look out for what’s best for us? Do we believe all those verses in God’s Word that tell us about His love for us and His watchful care over those who believe in His name? Can we rest in the knowledge that God keeps some things secret that are for His knowing only?

But the rest of verse 29 says, “but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Now, of course, this is given to Israel right before they enter the promised land and reminds them that God has given them the Mosaic Covenant Laws for them to know, trust in, obey, and pass along to their children. God had given them everything they needed, so they should practice what He had given them.

We know that under the New Covenant of grace, we no longer have those Laws to keep, as the Old Covenant was fulfilled by Jesus and replaced with the New Covenant of salvation by God’s grace through faith, not of our works. However, God has still given us many truths that provide directions for our lives and how we can bring honor and glory to our Savior. The things we are commanded to do in the New Testament, we fail to do. Like making disciples, loving one another, and praying for God to send out reapers for the harvest is ready, we forsake the assembly of Christians as the day of His return gets closer. What about the last commandment Jesus gave his disciples in Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We seem to want to focus on the “Secrets that belong to God”, rather than on the things He has revealed to us. He has given us enough and still has kept some things secret that only He knows. So, the question is, are you OK with God being God and keeping some things secret?  Maybe if we focus on what He has given us and do that, we won’t focus so much on God’s secrets that belong to Him.

A special thanks to Pastor Charles Hancock for his inspiration and authorship contributions.

 "Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"