There are certain questions that leave us worse off, no matter how they are answered. Suppose we were asked, “Yes or no — have you stopped poisoning puppies?” To answer “Yes” suggests we were once puppy-poisoners. The other choice is to admit we still are. But what if we are neither reformed puppy-poisoners nor present perpetrators of such cruel acts?

Theologically speaking, there are many questions that cannot be simply answered without further explanation. Even then, the explanation falls short. In many cases there are no easy answers. The classic example is often posed: “Can God make a rock so big that He cannot lift it?” To answer a simple “Yes” or “No” is to suggest that God is not all-powerful. My favorite answer is “Yes, God can make a rock so big He cannot lift it but then He would lift it.” Of course, even that answer falls short.

It is 3 a.m. on a mostly sleepless night. Here I sit in a room in a hotel after a long day of teaching at the European Leadership Forum in Wisla, Poland. It has been an amazing adventure so far as our teaching and ministry team has poured out to these 750 precious ministers from forty-three countries. However, in the quiet of this night, questions are bombarding my soul. Fundamentally, they can be reduced to one: “God, what do You want for my life — now?”

The answer can be stated simply. He wants me to do exactly what He commands and calls me to do — now! However, I am wanting more specific answers to specific questions regarding specific matters of life and ministry. Those are not so simple. or are they?

I once read that God’s will for our lives is like an epistle written on a scroll that can only be read one line at a time. Scrolls allow for no ability to turn easily to the end of the book. Even then, when it comes to God’s work in our lives, He often keeps the end of the book a secret He Himself holds. This is as it should be. He is God and we are not. I am reminded of Moses’ words to the people of God as they were about to enter the Promised Land:

 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever…” (Deuteronomy 29:29)

So what really is God’s answer to the yet-to-be-answered questions we all ask — or should ask — about life and ministry? The answer is the same He gave to Moses in Exodus 4, Gideon in Judges 6. Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1, and Jonah in Jonah 4.

I AM WITH YOU

Jesus was even more specific as He was about to leave His small band of confused disciples, who obviously had far more questions than answers. He wanted them to take comfort in His simple words, recorded in Matthew 28:20):

I AM WITH YOU — ALWAYS

As non-specific as that may initially seem, on this sleepless night, I am confident that there is no better answer to any of life’s questions. It is from that position of obedience and trust in the Crucified, Risen and Ascended Lord that we all can rest and wait. He is the One who will daily reveal His will — one line at a time. Then again, He may even choose to keep it His secret. We can rest in that, as well. Who wants to see the end of the book and spoil His surprise ending?