The Need to Know

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. - Romans 8:28

If you could know everything about your future, would you want to? If you could know about every bad thing that anyone said about you, would you want to have that information in your head? I wouldn't. I think it would be quite disillusioning.

A phrase is used in the military and governmental agencies regarding the release of certain information: "need to know." A subordinate might ask his or her commanding officer about a mission, and the officer will say, "That is on a need-to-know basis, and you don't need to know."

When the apostle Paul was arrested and put in prison in Jerusalem, he did not realize that 40 men had taken an oath to neither eat nor drink until they had killed him. He was not aware of this because he didn't need to know. God reveals to us as much as we need to know, when we need to know it. It is not necessarily more than we need to know, and certainly not less. He reveals what we need to know.

Your troubles, though unexpected to you, come as no surprise to God. Sometimes we will ask Him, "What is going on with this? What is going on in my life?" And God says, "Well, that is on a need-to-know basis, and you don't need to know right now. But in time I will make it known to you."

Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." We can't always see how things are working together for good. But we can always know. God will let us know as much as we need to know, when we need to know. And until that time, we must trust Him.