A casual reading of these verses might lead us to believe that God wants us to be sure of the difference between the divine and humans. “My ways are higher than your ways” is a pretty strong delineation between God and us. However, I do not think God is making a show of his power. This whole passage is labeled “a hymn of joy and triumph.” Israel will be restored. We cannot purchase God’s grace, but he gives it freely. His covenant with Israel will be glorified. All good news here. The next few verses are a call to repentance: seek the Lord, let the wicked forsake their way, return to the Lord, and he abundantly pardons. Again, all good news.

The problem with us humans is we tend to be dissatisfied with all this good news, and we ask “why”? How can God do these things? Why would He want to after his children have been disobedient and abandoned Him?

There are no answers to our questions, and the next verses, 8 and 9, tell us we never will understand. My thoughts and ways are higher than your ways, He says.

Most human beings are naturally curious. We want to understand how things work. We want to understand why certain things occur. We want to understand what motivates certain individuals to behave a certain way. And we can, to a certain extent, using scientific methods. We have found explanations for things that puzzled human beings for hundreds of years. Knowledge can grow. We can learn new things.

Understanding, however, is different. There are things that are beyond human understanding. The miracles that Jesus performed are examples. How can Jesus walk on water, how can water become wine, how can the dead live again? Think Lazarus here. We simply cannot understand. So, we are left with faith: faith that God’s plan is better than our plan, faith that He loves and cares for us, faith that ultimately, we will come into His presence. His thoughts and ways are higher than ours.

I do not think I can stop being curious and wanting to learn new things, but I can accept the truth that I will never understand everything, and that, too, is part of God’s plan.

Heavenly Father, so many times our cry is a loud “WHY? Even in our pleading, we know that only You have the full picture for each of us. Let us be thankful for Your love and Your guidance, trusting that you will lead us where we should go.

Amen

This devotional was written and read by Pat Scruggs.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.