"...because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day." 2 Timothy 1:12
On my first break back home from my freshman year in college, my Dad asked me a question, "Well, now that you're in college what have you learned?" I distinctly remember answering, "I've learned that there is a whole lot that I don't know!"
After nearly 30 years in ministry I hear myself saying the same thing, "The older I get, the more I realize that there is so much I don't know!" But you know what? That's OK with me. I would be foolish to pretend that I have all of the answers. My goodness, I don't even know all the questions!
In ministering to those who are questioning their neglect or abuse by a family member, or rejection, or grieving the loss of a loved one, I often hear myself saying, " I don't know..." What I do know is that God loves me and he loves you, that he desires to bring good out of the most painful situations, and that someday when we get to heaven our questions will be answered and the pain and tears of this life will be but a brief memory. That is what I hang my hat on when things around me don't make sense. I have to trust the heart of the One who loved me so much that he gave his life in exchange for mine.
Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:12 that even in the midst of suffering he held on to the fact that he knew who he had believed and was fully convinced that the Lord was able to take care of what he had entrusted to him. Because of what he did know, it was OK to admit the things that he didn't know.
What do you know?
