24 March 2021

How do we grasp concepts? Sometimes, like from a child, we are taught, we learn as we grow and develop. I guess we trust our parents and our teachers that the colour red is red. That the big bright light in the sky during the day is called the sun. That it is day when it is light and night when it is dark.

I started thinking like this one afternoon when I was looking after my 11-month-old granddaughter, Abigail. She relies on her family so much for her learning. Then as she gets older she will rely on her teachers to teach her to read and grow in knowledge and hopefully understanding of so many different areas. She will learn that one plus one is two. I learnt this from not only just saying it and rote learning but proving it with blocks that one block plus one block is two blocks. I could see and understand.

But of course, there are many concepts we can’t see. For example, air but we know it exists from experiments and by other ways of proving it is in the atmosphere.

Other concepts we can’t see… The environment of the earth we live on.  The anatomy of the human body is so amazing that only after centuries have we understood some of the ways the organs work individually and also as systems. How the skeleton, the muscles, the nerves all have a part to play.

Scientists are learning new things every day. How the brain can remodel itself when injured. The neuro pathways can often be rerouted.

There is still much to learn!

And not ONE human knows it all. The human brain, mind, emotions, physical being , mental being and spiritual being all are interrelated and man is learning new things everyday about itself. Maybe the least known about man is his spiritual being?

I guess it is the least known because it is man’s human mind that is trying to describe and understand the concept of man being made in the image and likeness of God.

Saint Basil the Great said,

“It is easier to measure the entire sea with a tiny cup than to grasp the ineffable greatness of God with the human mind.”

This blows my mind. That This God who asks us to call Him ABBA, FATHER, desires to have a close-knit relationship with us like a loving DAD. And He does it perfectly!

This God who knows everything! Who created everything. Who knows what is best for our environment, how the oxygen is carried in our blood and how our kidneys are used to get rid of waste products, toxins from our body—to name only a few things…..

This God sent HIS ONE and ONLY SON to rescue us.

To do that His Son had to die in our place.

This God who is so GREAT, Chose His Son to become so small, so insignificant that he was born in a feeding trough for animals.

My Human mind cannot conceive or understand all of this.

God’s Spirit tries to teach my spirit. Tries to impart understanding of so many things, especially spiritual things. But I lack. And that is ok.

David who wrote most of the Psalms could not get his head around it for Psalm 95:3 states

For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.

Psalm 97:9 says,

For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;

Even God’s thoughts and ways are above Human understanding.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways ……..”

Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV

This actually gives me a lot of peace and a feeling of safety. This God, who is my heavenly Father, loves me completely and knows everything. Is in everything. Is in control of everything. He is the highest KING. The Lord of all.

Rest is assured for me because HE is MY GOD, MY FATHER, MY KING, MY SAVIOUR and HE asks us to call HIM FRIEND!

Oh a huge sigh!

Just like Abigail relies on me when I look after her. She falls asleep peacefully in my arms. We can rely on Our God to look after us.

So, when you face times of insecurity, know that in God we are secure.

When you lack understanding Know that, in God, He has all understanding.

When there seems no peace in your environments know that, in God, we will truly find peace.

May these jottings from my journal inspire you to believe in and fall in love with Christ- the hope of the world, as stated in Jeremiah 17:7, ‘Blessed is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord and whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord!’

Love

Rosemary

Every week groups of ladies meet together to chat about the things I raise in my weekly blog post and to chat about life in general. We call these ‘Heart Connect’ groups. If you would like more information please click HERE.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

The human mind will never completely be able to explain God. Do you find it difficult to believe in a God that you can’t fully explain?

Do you struggle to trust in God because His ways are often not your ways?

How can you let go of what cannot be explained to allow God to work in your life?