Trust Jesus even when you cannot understand His ways.

That was what He had asked Peter to do (John 13:7). The question of why we should trust God when we cannot understand His ways is what I seek to address in this devotional.

When someone tells us something we do not want to hear it helps to know the qualification of the person who tells us the news. For example, if a certain medical specialist tells us bad news about our health, we may desire to have a second opinion or else find out how knowledgeable the doctor is in this particular medical field.

Who is this Jesus Who calls on us to submit to pain and suffering when we have no idea His purpose for it all? Well, John makes clear Who Jesus is in the verses that go before His call to submission in John 13:7.

First we are told in John 13:1 that Jesus knew exactly what was happening. He knew that Judas was gone to betray Him, He knew that in a couple of hours the disciples would forsake Him in Gethsemane, and He knew that Peter was soon to deny Him three times. Jesus’ knowledge is thorough. He knows all about us and will work things out in our lives in light of our strengths and weaknesses.

Then, we see in our verse today, that Jesus has an abiding love for “his own” as the verse tells us. John’s expression “unto the end” may also mean He loves His people without any giving up. His love is unstoppable. This is the second reason for submitting to the strange ways of the Lord.

Nothing in us will ever cause the Lord to give up on us. In our most private thoughts we all can name reasons why the Lord should leave us. John says here that Jesus’ love will never quit. Jesus knows all about us, He knows more about us than we have ever found out about ourselves. And even in light of all that He knows about us His love never flickers.

The next reason for accepting the unwanted thing from Jesus’ hand is seen in v. 3 where it tells us that Jesus is sovereign over everything. If you are a child of God never think that your situation is out of control. At the present time you cannot see the benefit of your situation, but Jesus will show you later how it all worked for good.

Then John tells us about how Jesus stooped to perform the most humble task of washing the disciples’ feet. The One Who has the universe in His hand bows down to take the grimy feet of some Jewish peasants into those hands. What a contrast and what a blessed reality. The Sovereign of the universe is concerned about the smallest detail in His followers lives.

Do you now see why you should trust yourself to Jesus in spite of the fact you do not understand what He is doing with you? If He knows all things, if His love never fails, if He really is in charge of everything, and if He thinks of our smallest needs like having clean bodies, surely He qualifies for our unquestioning love. That is why we should trust Him. We are assured that later we shall understand, and understanding we will certainly approve of how He has dealt with us. Come to Him and trust Him for today and forever.