The Heavenly Know-It-All - Martin Wiles

For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes. Proverbs 5:21 NLT

Every class I took in college seemed to have a know-it-all.

Know-it-alls are people who think they ... well ... know it all. And during my college tenure, I knew quite a few. They were the ones who quickly raised their hands when the professor asked a question he thought no one should know. With a smirky smile, they bellowed their answers and were proud of them—even when they were wrong. They were the ones who prided themselves on asking difficult questions to the professors, thinking they might stump the one who was supposed to know everything. And they loved to brag … on themselves.

I never enjoyed hanging around with know-it-alls. Their pompous attitudes got in the way of my having any meaningful conversation or relationship with them. A friendly, “How are you?” was the most I could manage. Inside, I felt sorry for them when the professors put them in their place or when I saw others avoiding them because of their attitude. And there were times when I knew more than they did, but I wouldn’t answer because I didn’t want to be perceived as what they were.

But there is one know-it-all I choose to have a relationship with: God. We term his ability to know it all as omniscience. Just as he is all-powerful and can be in all places at the same time, so he also has the capacity to know the past, present, and future—as well as all the possibilities that never materialize.

This trait of God is comforting. When we’re down in the dumps, he knows. When the financial crunch crunches, he knows. When the relationship sours, he knows. When the test grade bombs, he knows. Not only does he know the facts, but he also knows the whys behind the facts. He knows how to get us through the financial messes, soured relationships, difficult assignments, tough work atmospheres, and emotional upsets.

I make a habit of avoiding know-it-alls, but not God. He’s not pompous or self-focused. He wants to help us through life’s tough spots, and will if we ask.

Don’t wait until life goes downhill to consult God. He’s the know-it-all who knows it all and wants to help you every day and with every detail.

Father, as my heavenly Know-It-All, prompt me to come to you with all of life’s episodes—good and bad.  

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Knowing God - Martin Wiles

Asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. Ephesians 1:17 NLT

Getting to know someone doesn’t just happen—nor does knowing God.

When I arrived in this world, the first person I met was the doctor. Then I met the nurses who handed me to a lady who snuggled me against her chest. A few minutes later, a man took me from the woman and cuddled me against his chest. Several days later, they took me to a strange place. Both of them stuck a bottle in my mouth when I was hungry, changed my diaper when I soiled it and rocked me to sleep. It took a while, but at some point, I began calling them Momma and Da Da. But I didn’t know all there was to know about them. That would take their lifetime and mine.

Getting to know God isn’t much different than getting to know anyone else. Had my parents given me up for adoption, I would never have known them—unless they chose to reveal themselves later. Had I decided to leave them when I was old enough to care for myself, I wouldn’t have learned the many wonderful things I know now.

The theology book I used in college was four inches thick and told anything I could possibly want to know about God. I’ve plowed through it several times, but that only tells me things about God. The same could be said for reading my Bible. It gives me information about God but doesn’t guarantee I’ll know him.

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians was that they’d get to know God. Before we can know God better, we must recognize we need to. When we make this request, God will grant it and show us ways to make it happen.

Studying Jesus’ life in the gospels is an excellent place to start. Since he was God in human form, he shows us much of what we need to know about God and how he expects us to live. When we hunger to know God, the Bible and other sources then become great avenues of information.

Knowledge about God is only mildly beneficial; personal knowledge about him will change our lives. After all, knowledge is of little use if we don’t use it to better ourselves, others, and the world.

So, what can you do to know God better?

Prayer: Father, may we never be satisfied with just knowing about You. Guide us into a complete knowledge of who You are and who we are in a relationship with You. 

Tweetable: How well do you know God? 

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Pass It On - Martin Wiles

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. John 13:35 NLT

I watched in disbelief. Someone had failed to pass it on.

A popular talk-show host called down a seventeen-year-old for a test. She showed her a table on which were a road map—the hard copy kind—a Yellow Book, and a rotary phone. The test: refold the map, look up a number in the phone book, and call the place of business.

After watching the young lady struggle for a few minutes with the map, the host took it away. Then when the young woman couldn’t find the phone number, the host gave her the number written down on a sheet of paper. Finally, the teenager managed to call the number, but she made one fatal error: she forgot to lift the receiver before dialing the number. 

Evidently, her parents had not passed on to her these abilities. Perhaps, they didn’t have them themselves. Or maybe they thought the advancements in technology nullified knowing such things.

As a young boy, I and many others sang the popular children’s song, “Pass It On.” The song's lyrics encouraged us to pass on God’s love to others, which certainly included other generations.

Seeing the young lady’s struggle with the phone book, I decided to try an experiment with the middle schoolers I taught. Instead of giving the definition of their spelling words, I made them look them up in a hard copy dictionary. As with the young lady on the show, I watched them struggle. A couple managed only to find one word in a thirty-minute span. Many others found only six. Although I enjoy technological advances, I had to wonder if they weren’t dumbing down our young people.

Jesus said the love believers have for each other would convince the world we belong to Him. And His love is something we don’t need to forget to pass along to the generations that follow us.

But there’s more. We should pass along acts of kindness, forgiveness, family traditions, our unique knowledge on how to accomplish certain things, survival techniques, and other practical things. Love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, and self-control are also worthy traits to pass along. When we don’t pass these things on to our families and friends, the succeeding generations forget how they look. Before long, we might be like the young girl who didn’t know how to do things that once held great importance.

If we forget the pass along essential things, the world will become a lonely place. But when we remember, we help resurrect the world as God intended and intends it to be. 

Think of a few essential things you can pass on to your family.

Prayer: Father, give us the wisdom to pass on important things to the generations that follow us.

Tweetable: What are you passing on to the next generation? 

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Unlimited Understanding - Martin Wiles

The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. Isaiah 40:28 NLT

Why did…? How many are there…? What does ______ mean? The questions often come quicker than kernels of popcorn responding to heat.

Middle schoolers can have a bucketful of questions. Some more than others. The super inquisitive ones always have questions—multiple times during the class. I don’t have any trouble answering the questions related to what I teach them, English, but they expect me to know it all. Math. Science. History. 

Fortunately, I have resources teachers didn’t have when I was growing up. I call it god with a little g, but it’s really Google. If I want to know something, I Google it. When a student asks me something I don’t know, I do the same. 

Having information at my fingertips is wonderful—having lived on the previous side of the information age when I actually had to go to a library and find books on what I wanted to know. Or use an encyclopedia. 

But some things even Google doesn’t know. We have a Google home, and some questions I ask receive the response, “I’m sorry. I can’t help you with that.” The God with the big G doesn’t have that problem. As Isaiah proclaimed, no one can measure the depths of His understanding. 

If God is the creator of all things and people, it stands to reason He has enough wisdom and understanding to control what He has created. Not only can He control it, but He also can know the minute details of what He has created. Scientists, mathematicians, and archaeologists may study for thousands of years to figure out what God already knows. 

Believing God has such understanding makes it easy to believe He can give me the wisdom I need to face life and the daily circumstances that make it up. Consulting other sources—counselors, scholarly books, people—might not necessarily be wrong, but He is the ultimate source who’ll never steer me wrong. Others are finite; God is infinite.

Nor does God ever tire—or sleep. Lack of sleep affects my mental capacities. Insomnia doesn’t bother God. He doesn’t need sleep. Neither does He tire of me coming to Him with questions. Sometimes mine fire off as quickly as my Middle Schooler’s do. 

When you need wisdom and understanding, go straight to the Source where it’s found.

Tweetable: What resources do you get your knowledge from?

Prayer: Father, we thank You for Your willingness to share Your wisdom and understanding with us.

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Don’t Know; Don’t Understand - Martin Wiles

I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I look to the south, but he is concealed. Job 23:9 NLT

Some things simply cannot be explained because information is missing.

Complex sentences are composed of one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. Like me being dependent on my parents until I reached legal status, the dependent clause is dependent on the independent clause. An independent clause has all the elements that allow it to stand alone: subject, verb, and complete thought. Dependent clauses are missing one or more of the necessary elements.

“When I was a young child” is an example of a dependent clause. The subject and verb are present, but important information is missing. If someone made that statement to me, I would expect more information. What happened when you were a young child? Since I don’t know what happened, the clause is senseless and fails to communicate.

Job was lacking information as well. He had faithfully served God but now experienced the loss of practically everything he had—and with no explanation. God seemed far away. Job’s questions received no answers. God had given him a dependent clause only but had not finished the statement.

Many things in life don’t make sense. A child killed in an accident because a parent was driving drunk. Natural disasters that steal the lives and property of innocent people. People living homeless because no one will offer them a job. Cancer. Other incurable diseases. Family members not caring for their elderly loved ones. Terrorist activity. A spouse lost to depression or Alzheimer’s.

Sin is the simple answer, but it doesn’t always provide comfort. Knowing sin is behind the cancer that killed their small child doesn’t take away the grief the parents face. Believing God is love and is sovereign is a better path to follow.

Many things in life are unexplainable. Some take comfort in thinking God will answer all our questions when we get to heaven—but He may not. Peace and abundant living comes from accepting that God is in control and knows what He’s doing, that He acts consistently out of love, and that His plan is always best.

Don’t let the unexplainable things of life throw you for a loop. God has them under His control. He will give you the strength to endure and overcome, even when you don’t understand.

Prayer: Father, when life happens in ways we can’t explain or understand, help us believe that You are in control and that Your plan is best. 

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