Imagine that you’re walking through your garden and you see a cricket perched on one of your plants.  What is his world like?  That little cricket has a place that it hides and sleeps, and it comes out to eat.  That’s its life.  It operates mostly by sound, feel, and smell – its sight is limited to light, dark, and movement.  It can’t see you in the way you see it.  It’s not like a little person looking up at you from its perch on that leaf.  It’s vaguely aware of what you even look like.  And yet, YOU’RE the one who has planted the garden that it lives in.  YOU’RE the one who is watching it and noticing its existence.  You’ve heard it chirping and you see it perched on its leaf.  But what you also see is a lizard on the adjacent leaf…  and it’s moving closer…  sneaking up on the little cricket…  looking for a meal.  So, not wanting your cricket friend to get eaten, you gently grab him in your hand and you walk a few steps and let him go in another part of the garden.  You know that you’ve saved that little bug’s life…  But what does that situation look like from his perspective? 

The little cricket only understands that some colossal predator trapped him, smothering him in darkness, and making him squirm, fight, and fear for his life.  Then as quickly as he was captured, he was let go.  By a fluke, the predator must have dropped him.  He scrambles for cover, alive and unhurt.  But the smells are different here.  He can’t find his trail back to his burrow.  To his mind, everything that has happened to him is bad – he was attacked; he struggled for his life; he lost his home; he lost his feeding territory.  The little cricket might say to himself, “This is terrible!  What a cruel world this is! Curse that predator that ruined my life!”  Except the truth is that the little cricket had nothing to fear from you.  You saw the danger that he could not see.  You knew the intentions of the lizard.  And everything you did was for his good. 

How is it any different for us?  Hardships, tragedies, and losses fall upon our lives and we curse, weep, scream, or close ourselves off.  We see nothing good in them.  But beyond our sight and understanding, a vast and unsearchable God has gently taken us in His hand and done what was best for us.  We might not see it for what it is.  We might see it as calamity, disappointment, or tragedy.  But if we can be so good to a little bug and yet be so misunderstood, how much more unsearchable is the God of the universe?  Our sight is short.  Our senses are dull.  And our understanding is minuscule.  Why should we accuse God of hurting us when He has already told us that He is working all things for our good? 

How would you explain to that cricket the wisdom that goes into planting the seeds and managing the soil and water that make his garden habitat grow?  He could never understand. 

How would you explain the tractor that rumbles and shakes his small world, or the mechanics of the truck that drives you to town?  He could never understand. 

How would you explain the house you live in, the bed you sleep in, or the thermostat that keeps you comfortable to a creature that dwells in the natural crannies of soil, leaves, and grass?  He could never understand. 

How would you explain your job and the economy of our complex society to a creature concerned only with food and safety and finding a mate?  He could never understand these things. 

And like our little friend, there is so much more going on in our universe than we will ever be able to see or understand. 

We can’t fathom God’s ways, because they are higher than our ways.

We can’t fathom God’s mind, because it’s infinitely more complex than our minds. 

We can’t fathom God’s heaven, because it’s a place that is incomprehensible to us. 

We can’t fathom God’s timing, because it’s incompatible with our concept of reality. 

We can’t fathom God’s love, because it’s so far outside our selfishness, manipulation, and greed.

And yet we think that God is cruel, uncaring, or wrong because He doesn’t operate as we crickets do.  What vain and prideful fools we are. Learn the lesson of the cricket and see yourself as you really are… a tiny creature before a vast and unsearchable God.  And see the Lord for who He really is… the One who knows you, sees you, and cares for you in ways you don’t even begin to understand.