Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Matthew 10:27–31
I know not why God’s wondrous grace to me He hath made known,
Nor why unworthy Christ in love redeemed me for His own.
I know not how the Spirit moves, convincing men of sin,
Revealing Jesus through the Word, creating faith in Him.
I know not what of good or ill may be reserved for me,
Of weary ways or golden days before His face I see.
I know not when my Lord may come, at night or noonday fair,
Nor if I’ll walk the vale with Him, or “meet Him in the air.”
The refrain of this hymn is taken from Paul’s second letter to Timothy and explains how the apostle was able to bear under so much of what he suffered in his service to Christ: “But ‘I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day’” (cf. 2 Timothy 1:12). Paul penned these words while in the custody of Nero Caesar in Rome. His fate had probably not yet been determined, but Paul rested firmly on the knowledge that the Lord would be with him through whatever might come, just as He always had been (4:17–18).
There are a number of things that are not given man to know. We might wonder why we must suffer as we sometimes do; God knows. There are times we must suffer to gain needed patience (James 5:10–11) or to see our need to repent of some wrong (Hebrews 12:9–11). It is not given to man to know the day of his death (Genesis 27:2) or of the Lord’s return (1 Thessalonians 5:1–3). The important thing is that He knows both (Job 14:5) and has assured us that Christ will come again (2 Peter 3:10; Hebrews 10:37). It is not in our power to judge the condition of the souls of men (1 Timothy 5:24–25), but God knows the heart of every man (1 Samuel 16:7; John 2:24–25). Before His all-seeing eye “all things are naked and open” (Hebrews 4:13).
Furthermore it is not given to us to know what we will face in the days to come. Saul of Tarsus could never have suspected the things that awaited him, but God did. God told Ananias, “He is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9:15–16). As Paul told Timothy, the Lord often strengthened Him in times of adversity (2 Timothy 4:17). When Paul arrived in the wicked city of Corinth after so much persecution on his second missionary journey, “the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city’” (Acts 18:9–10). While he was bound in Jerusalem, “the Lord stood by him and said, ‘Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome’” (Acts 23:11). After two weeks lost at sea, God renewed his hope when an angel assured him that he would stand before Caesar (Acts 27:23–24). This hope sustained him even in his cell as he awaited his imminent departure (2 Timothy 4:6).
We may not know what this life has in store for us, but we may find great hope in the fact that God does and that even the number of the hairs on our head is no secret to Him who knows all!