Understand, You Do Not

**Photo courtesy of www.google.ca**

Star Wars is, perhaps, the most popular and iconic sci-fi movie series of our time. If you are a die hard follower of the Star Wars franchise, you are familiar with the many characters that remain beloved to you today - Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, and Chewbacca, to name a few.

My favorite character was Yoda. A...creature of odd proportion, Yoda always knew what to say. He was considered to be exceptionally wise and, at times, spoke in a backward fashion, completely understood by those who knew him well. Skywalker would, often, seek Yoda's wisdom about a variety of predicaments that, young Luke, would often find himself in.

When I first started watching the Star Wars films, Yoda was a bit of a conundrum to me. At times, I didn't fully comprehend him but, over time, and having watched subsequent episodes, came to fully understand Yoda's 'ways'. Dare I say that I started speaking backwards while attempting to duplicate Yoda's voice. Don't tell anyone.

While it was over time I eventually figured Yoda out, there are things in this world that perplex me. Like the uncommon use of common sense, using anonymity to bully, or advocating violence while promoting a 'worthwhile cause'. These, along with so many other things, cause confusion and defy logic.

Growing up, one of the greatest things I didn't understand was God. To me, He was wrathful, distant, and poised to punish. An up-in-the-clouds deity not at all interested in the things that were causing me pain, depression, and anger.

It wasn't until much later in life that I became a Christian and entered into a personal relationship with God. Only then, did I come to fathom all the things that had, once, been pre-conceived as a young woman. Like thinking God was angry all the time and only interested in doling out discipline when, in fact, God was love and there was no denying it once I felt it for myself.

Then, there was the misconception that God had no interest in me or my life, until I spent time with Him. Now, I have come to understand that He's interested in even the smallest detail of every area of my everyday life. It's interesting how confused we can become when we don't take the time to really get to know the source of our misunderstanding.

Now, I can say that many things in life make sense because of the time taken each day to get to know God and His perspective on those things. The world and how it changes also makes more sense because of the time spent in God's Word, the Bible.

There is a book in the Bible called Jeremiah that speaks of a wonderful promise: "...In days to come you will understand it clearly." - Jeremiah 23:20 (NIV). A reassuring promise that, even though I may not understand something in this exact moment, I can look to God, asking for knowledge and understanding, and He will help me figure things out.

I am thankful for this kind of help and wisdom when it comes to navigating life. No matter what the situation, whether I get everything sorted out or not, God will help me and...understand, I will.

Encouragement for the week:

Understanding the difficult things in life can, sometimes, be elusive but with time, knowledge, and careful thought, those things can become less difficult.

With God, it's not so much that I need to comprehend everything in my life as much as it's knowing it's okay if I don't.

If you are a Christian, you know the importance of understanding the true character of God in order to comprehend the daily challenges we will encounter. Keep leaning into Him and He will help you to understand.

If you are not a Christian, and you struggle to understand some things in your life, look for Jesus and you will find Him. He will help you along the way to understand things from a more wonderful perspective than you have ever known.