The thought hit me today as I was ironing. I was listening to a song (it helps me pass the ironing time) about following God through green pastures and dark disasters and praising Him in the midst of both. About His worthiness no matter what I experience here on earth.

Then I realized it. He knows E V E R Y T H I N G. Sometimes I wonder why certain dark disasters befall me, and when I’m being particularly virtuous, I wonder why dark disasters befall others. I saw that with my one-sided, limited perspective, I can’t possibly know all the intricacies or whys of a situation. Only God can. I may wonder why God would place a friend in my life who becomes a turncoat. In my perspective, I can see that the Lord teaches me to trust only Him, but I can’t see how the turncoat is benefiting. I can’t see God’s sovereign plan for him or her. But God does. He allows it all to happen, as time and circumstance sift through His amazing hands.

I have a self-centered view of God’s dealings, forgetting that He is orchestrating the entire world in a beautiful, cosmic plan of redemption. Things that seem difficult to me may be God’s way of wooing someone else. His plan is intricate. It is not my place to question it. I certainly don’t boast of understanding it.

It’s a mystery, this journey with the Holy One. The longer I walk the dusty path with Him, the more keenly aware I become of my own limits, quite outshined by His limitlessness. I feel small, but thankful, that He stretched through time and eternity to rescue me, to love me, to provide a way for me to love Him.

His ways, as we know from Scriptures, are not our ways. That’s what keeps the mystery alive, helping me realize that God is completely OTHER than me. He holds all our stories in His hands, intermingling them as He chooses, with perfect justice.

He’s got the whole world in His hands
He’s got the whole wide world in His hands
He’s got the whole world in His hands
He’s got the whole world in His hands.

Simple, but true. Often the things worth knowing about God are that way. Simple. True. How funny it is that I’ve had to live a lifetime until today to realize it–all as a part of His plan.