December 6
When We Don’t
Understand
“My thoughts are not like your thoughts. And your ways are not like my ways,” announces the Lord. “The heavens are higher than the earth. And my ways are higher than your ways. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIrV)
Adam sat on the couch, remote in hand, barely blinking at the images flashing across the screen. News anchors spoke in somber tones as footage of collapsed buildings, fires, and frantic rescue efforts filled the TV. A massive earthquake had struck Japan. Thousands of lives lost. Families shattered. Entire cities flattened.
His stomach turned. He grabbed the remote and muted the TV.
“I don’t get it,” he muttered.
His partner, Lisa, looked up from her phone. “What?”
Adam gestured toward the screen. “If God is good, why does He allow this? Why let thousands of innocent people die like this? Children, families… gone in seconds.” His voice grew tight. “How can a loving God just watch?”
Lisa sighed, setting her phone down. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “It’s awful.”
Adam leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “People say ‘God has a plan,’ but how does this fit into it? What kind of plan involves this much suffering?”
Lisa was quiet for a moment before she spoke. “Remember when my grandma had cancer? I kept praying for her to get better, but she didn’t. I was so angry, Adam. I felt like God had abandoned her… abandoned me. But you know what? In those last few months, she came to know Jesus. She found peace, even when I couldn’t.”
Adam glanced at her, waiting.
Lisa shrugged. “I still don’t understand why she had to suffer, but I know God saw a bigger picture than I ever could. Maybe it’s the same with this. Maybe God sees something we don’t.”
Adam exhaled. “I wish I could believe that.”
Lisa reached for his hand. “You don’t have to understand everything. Neither do I. But Isaiah 55:8-9 says God’s ways are higher than ours. That His thoughts are beyond us. Maybe that’s the point—we’re not meant to have all the answers.”
Adam sat back, her words settling in his heart. He still had questions, still felt the weight of the tragedy. But maybe faith wasn’t about having answers—it was about trusting even when he didn’t.
Prayer:
Dear God,
There is so much in this world that I don’t understand.
Pain, suffering, loss—it’s hard to make sense of it all.
But I know Your ways are higher than mine, and You see what I cannot.
Help me trust You, even in the questions.
Give me peace when I struggle, and remind me that You are always in control.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
