When God’s work puzzles us, it can be a challenge. This often occurs when reason enters the equation instead of faith and trust in God. There are many things the Lord does that we don’t understand, but we must trust God. Hebrews 11:1Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.[1]
When the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost, the people began speaking in other tongues that the Holy Spirit gave them the ability. They had not experienced this before and could not grasp what was happening. Acts 2:6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. 7 They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, 8 , and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! [2]
Walking by Faith
Abraham did not question God when commanded to sacrifice his son, Isaac. He was obedient to walk by faith. At the last moment, the Lord provided a ram to sacrifice instead of Isaac. Abraham was a place in His life where he trusted the Lord and was not surprised when God was doing something new he did not understand.
As the people heard the believers speaking in their language on Pentecost, they were amazed and perplexed. Some people even said the people were drunk. It is not unusual for people to be perplexed anytime the Lord does something new in their lives. If we approach the new situation in faith, we can ask the Lord for discernment. There is nothing wrong with praying to the Lord to request confirmation if the new thing is from Him. The Lord loves when we come to Him for discernment.
God’s Work Around Me is Like a Puzzle
God, the creator, can see the big picture of all we experience in a lifetime. As life unfolds, sometimes we don’t understand a puzzling piece. These can be part of God’s plan for our lives. God was doing something new at Pentecost. Speaking in other languages as the Spirit gave them ability was like a new puzzle piece.
As we trust the Lord with the puzzle piece He has given us, He will help us place it in the right spot to help us better understand His plan and the bigger picture. We build the puzzle together as we walk with the Lord by faith. Sometimes, the puzzle pieces make sense; other times, we must trust the Lord as He helps us put the puzzle piece in place.
People speaking in other languages as the Spirit enabled them was a new puzzle piece that was a gift of the Holy Spirit. Building a puzzle with the Lord is an adventure of trust and faith. We don’t know how all the pieces go together, but God does. Walk in trust and look for God to do new and exciting things in your life, even if you don’t understand them.
To learn more about when God’s work puzzles us, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/pentecost
[1-2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation . Tyndale House Publishers.