TRUST HIM WHEN YOU CANNOT EXPLAIN HIS PLAN

Luke 9:42-45

Luk 9:42 As the boy was approaching, the demon threw him to the ground and shook him with convulsions. But Jesus reprimanded the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
Luk 9:43 Then they were all stunned by the mighty power of God. But while the entire crowd was amazed at everything Jesus was doing, he said to his disciples,
Luk 9:44 “Take these words to heart, because the Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.”
Luk 9:45 But they did not understand this statement; its meaning had been hidden from them, so that they could not grasp it. Yet they were afraid to ask him about this statement.

afraid to ask

The deliverance of this boy was the kind of moment everyone could rejoice in—everyone except the demon who had tormented him. A father’s long agony was finally relieved, a child was restored, and the crowd witnessed the compassion and authority of Jesus in action. It was a moment of pure goodness, the kind of moment that makes faith feel simple and joyful.

But right on the heels of that celebration, Jesus spoke words the disciples had no category for. He told them again that He would be betrayed, handed over, and killed. They could accept His power. They could accept His compassion. They could even accept His identity as Messiah. But betrayal? Suffering? Death? That did not fit into their understanding of God’s plan. They were afraid to ask Him what He meant, because the truth felt too heavy to face.

We are not so different. We love the parts of God’s plan that feel like deliverance—healing, restoration, answered prayer, moments of joy. But there are other parts of His plan that unsettle us, confuse us, or even frighten us. There are seasons when God’s purposes seem hidden behind pain or disappointment. There are moments when we, like the disciples, would rather not ask the hard questions because we are afraid of the answers.

Yet the same Jesus who cast out the demon is the Jesus who walked toward the cross. The same God who rescues also refines. His plan for the world is wonderful, but it is not always comfortable. And even His own people sometimes struggle to understand the path He chooses.

The disciples eventually learned that the cross was not a contradiction of God’s goodness but the deepest expression of it. In time, we learn the same. The parts of God’s plan that confuse us today may one day become the very things that reveal His wisdom and love most clearly.

So we pray:
LORD, give us the courage to trust Your plan, even when we are confused about why some things happen.