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One day I was walking on the road lost in thoughts, and a distant relative drove by in a car. She waved out to me, but I didn't notice her or the car. She was so upset that she drove straight to my house and told my wife that I was an arrogant man!

These kinds of reactions are very common, aren't they? Someone gets upset because the pastor didn't greet him or visit when he was sick. Or when they get cut off on a phone call or any of a thousand other things. Friendships break up and sometimes these result in attacks, spreading stories, teaching the others a lesson, etc.

This happens even towards God. People know theoretically that God is good all the time, He will never leave us, etc. But when He didn't answer a prayer, people are ready to quit on Him. When something goes wrong, they put the blame on Him. They think He is not managing things for them well enough. Even those who have been evangelists and Bible teachers have quit when their expectations were crossed.

Our knowledge and understanding are very much limited. None of us really knows what the others are thinking or why exactly they do certain things. The problem is that with our limited knowledge we assume that we have got them figured out. We are so convinced about our conclusions that without giving the others any chance to explain, we just throw them out.

Haven't we also had occasions when we had come to conclusions about someone, and afterwards we felt like fools when things became clear about what had actually happened and why people did what they did? Yet it seems we are slow to learn.

When we know that God is good and He will never leave us, why don't we believe it when we feel we can't trust Him? Is it any fault on His side? Never! There is never a fault on His side and He never makes a mistake. What then is the problem? It is just that we can't always understand or figure out what He is doing. If we can't always figure out people, do we imagine we can ever fully understand God's ways? But if we are wise, we have to admit that He must still be good even when we have doubts, and there must be some valid explanation He has for all His actions. Even when we can't understand what He is doing, we must believe that His plans for us are always for our welfare (Je.29:11). Even if He is disciplining us, it is still out of love for us (He.12:10). Taking this position in our mind as an anchor from which we will not move is the only way we can be safe in the storm, even when we are in darkness not knowing what is happening to us. Just think how we will be the losers and not God if we go for a wrong reaction.

With people too, why don't we give people the benefit of doubt, knowing that we don't know everything? They may have good intentions even when they sometimes go wrong, just like we do. Or it may be one of those blind spots in their mind, just as we also have. Just think of how ridiculous we can look afterwards when the real facts come out!

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