Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said? John 16:19
Mere hours before Jesus' arrest, He gave the disciples one last round of heavy teaching, but not all of it registered. Rather than ask Him, they tried to figure it out for themselves. After all, they didn't want to look stupid…
Don't we do the same thing? Don't we ask for advice from everybody around before we ask God and search out His answer? Aren't we positive we can figure things out if we just have a little more time?
Two simple truths stand out in this short exchange:
1. Jesus knows our questions.
In John 16:19, Jesus quotes the very question the disciples were asking among themselves. He knows the deep issues on our hearts, and He knows the foolish lengths we go to in order to hide our confusion. And He knows why we do that- pride, doubt, unbelief…
2. Jesus has the answers.
He is the source, the author of all truth. He has perfect knowledge and understanding and He knows the possibilities and outcomes for each situation we come up against.
The catch
In today's conversation with His disciples, He answered their question in straightforward, plain language. The disciples even remarked, "Now He's talking plainly!"
He doesn't always do that. Sometimes… His answer is "trust Me".
Jesus promises to provide our every need, not our every want. He will always supply the answers we need.
At Christmas, we are willing to wait to find out what's in those packages under the tree because we trust that they are good, and provided by someone who loves us. It's the same way with the answers God withholds for a time. He loves us, the answers are for our good, but it's not yet time.
Even so, He never says to stop asking.