I find it hard to believe that God is all knowing (past, present, and future). I love the Bible but from the day I learned that He is all knowing, the Bible doesn’t make sense to me anymore. Help me please.
I have often said that if I could understand all there is to know about God, then He would not be much of a God. His person, His power, His ways, His wisdom, His love are all beyond our complete understanding. Romans 11:33 says, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”
The Lord not only knows all things, He determines the course of the world. Isaiah 46:9-10 states, “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” How precious to know that the counsel of God will stand. It cannot be changed by any influence or attack. God cannot change (Malachi 3:6); neither does His counsel (purpose) change. This should bring comfort to the heart of every believer. GOD IS IN CONTROL! The enemy cannot defeat His purposes. The Lord will indeed, “DO ALL MY PLEASURE.”
Perhaps, knowing that God is all-knowing (omniscient), we may wonder why He allowed or instructed so much in the Bible that seems outrageous to us. Why did He create Adam if He knew He would sin? Why did He free the Israelites from Egypt if He knew they would rebel against Him? Why would He promise a Messiah to Israel if He knew they would reject Him? 1 Corinthians 10:11 assures us, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” Amazing, isnt’ it? The Lord allowed so much to happen and to be written down for us just so we could learn valuable lessons…just so we could be admonished (rebuked, warned). How great is the love of God that He would go to such great lengths to prepare us for a life of obedience and service to Himself.
We may ask that if the Lord knows all things, why did He not prevent a loved one from dying? Again, although we may not understand why the Lord allows such things, certainly we can trust Him to do what is right, can’t we? Genesis 18:25 asks the rhetorical question, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Let us consider the precious truth of Isaiah 57:1, “The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that THE RIGHTEOUS IS TAKEN AWAY FROM THE EVIL TO COME.” The Lord, in His infinite knowledge and love, may remove a loved one from this scene to rescue them from evil that may lie in wait to beset them.
In spite of our limited ability to understand God, He has manifested Himself to us so greatly that we can certainly trust Him in all situations. We read the words of the psalmist in Psalm 119:75, “I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right…” What confidence comes when we simply learn to trust in the Lord, especially when we do not understand His plans for us.
In Isaiah 55:8 we read the words of the Lord, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” The Lord sees things from a perfect and eternal perspective. Therefore, His thoughts are different than our thoughts. His ways are different than our ways. His thoughts and ways are perfect, and we should be able to trust Him in all things, knowing that He knows the past, present, and future. As Peter said to the Lord Jesus, “Lord, thou knowest all things…” (John 21:17), so should we confidently trust the Lord because He knows all things. That should be a boost to our faith, not a hindrance. (477.4)