WORDS FROM W.W. December 30, 2014
Nothing quite causes unrest and frustration more than three words: We don’t know!
People who are looking for the answer or final solution find it hard to truly hear those words. You can blame it on the times we live in…and the devices of our time.
For example, I can look at a device wrapped around my wrist and instantly discover how many calories I’ve burned off during my workout.
I can look at the side of a box to find out how many grams of sugar are in the bowl of cereal I’m munching on.
I can go to the Channel Guide on my TV to find out what is playing at 9:00 tonight on the Sci Fi Channel.
I can go on-line to see the balance in my checking account.
But there are some things in life that have a grayness to them, that aren’t instant answers. Those three words…”We don’t know!”, cause eyebrows to be raised and fears to be heightened. They are three words that have become like a foreign language to our culture.
“We must know! We have to know!”
I recently was sitting with a family in a hospital waiting room waiting to hear from the surgeon about the difficult procedure the loved one had undergone. As we waited the text messages kept bombarding family members.
“How did it go?”
“Is he in recovery?”
“What did they find out?”
“How long will he be there?”
The spouse patiently responded to each one “We don’t know!” The waiting for word and the pressure from those who weren’t there to know was raising her own level of concern. Patience quite often takes a detour around hospital waiting rooms.
Last week my wife and I were inquiring about the purchase of a hot new product that we were looking to buy. The store was out of them. I found myself getting a little agitated when the salesperson’s respond to when they would get some more in was “We don’t know! Maybe next week…maybe a couple of weeks!”
The answer wasn’t immediate…and so I was up against a brick wall. The bricks did not feel good against my desire to move forward.
I often get spiritual questions that I can’t answer. The questioner looks at my response of “I don’t know!” and is taken back. I’m a pastor. I’m suppose to know.
But I have no idea how God created angels, or what kind of fish it was that swallowed Jonah? Why do good things happen to bad people…and bad things happen to good people? Why does one person get cured of cancer, and another die a slow painful death?
Life is filled with questions that I am clueless about answering.
Most of my day is spent in “the immediate.” That is, I can immediately know without wondering. It’s the moments of wondering that are uncomfortable, and yet they are also the moments that are usually tinted with the presence of God.
Words from WW Blog 