Do You Trust The Integrity Of God?

"The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." Deuteronomy 29:29 As we walk on our journey through this life, we will encounter a lot of unexplainable things which may make us question God. The eternal "why's." Job, a man grievously stricken with tragedy, refused to question God, but friends of his came to comfort him in his grief and they suggested all kinds of reasons why Job had these calamities come upon him. At the end of the story, God was angry with those friends because they were wrong in their conclusions of why these things came upon Job. In other words, we cannot always know the reasons behind things, because God's ways are far more complicated than we have any idea. God sees with a perspective that we do not have, therefore we have to leave the "why's" with him. Job did exactly that. "Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said, 'Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.' In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.'" Job 1:20-22 It is the pride and arrogance of man to demand from God to know his reasons for things, with the unspoken threat that if he doesn't reveal the reason, the man will harbor in his heart the belief that God is unjust. God has said throughout his Word that he is the God of justice, of love, of faithfulness. Sometimes he allows bad things to happen to good people, and he does not owe us an explanation. If you have an argument with God, know perfectly that the fault is with you and not with God. It behooves all believers to trust in the INTEGRITY of God. He will answer all our questions later, but for now we must surrender to his will as Job did, knowing that God is not unjust. Here is a detail that many miss when reading the story of Job. We are told in chapter 1 of the Book of Job, how many sheep, camels, yokes of oxen, and female donkeys Job had - and lost them all. At the end of the story, in chapter 42, God restores to Job DOUBLE of all that he lost. A double number of sheep, a double number of camels, a double number of oxen, a double number of donkeys. But - whereas he had lost his children, seven sons and three daughters, when God restored Job he did not double the number of children he went on to have. Seven more sons and three more daughters were born to him, the same number of children that he lost. Why did God restore double the number of everything else, but only the same number of children that would be born to him? The answer is that Job did not lose the original sons and daughters forever. They were very much alive in heaven and he would be reunited with them, so that in heaven Job will have the double number, the original number and the number of the ones born later. 14 sons and 6 daughters. The secret things belong to the Lord, and we have to leave it at that, that is his prerogative. He wants to know the attitude of our heart, whether we will judge him wrongly, or whether we will believe in his integrity and trust him no matter what. It all turns out right in the end, for those who trust him without having to know “why” when suffering comes. Do not be among those who will be ashamed on the day they stand before God and come to know the why's and wherefore's - and who will drop their head and say, "oh wow, now I get it, now I understand, I wish I had trusted you." No. Trust him now. Many didn't pass that test and entered an eternity of regret. Don't make the same mistake.