Something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently is complexity. The complexity of our society and economy has been made clear as the government has made decisions during the pandemic which have had unforeseen consequences. They’ve not had enough information about every single person and their situation as they’ve tried to make provision for people in lockdown. So there have been changed plans and new initiatives as things have become clearer. The individual histories and situations of each person in a nation is almost impossible to imagine and to grasp. A very interesting thread on Twitter from Robert Colvile, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, outlined how pandemic policies backed up by databases – information – have been far more successful than those without.
I’m not in government (thankfully!) but I am involved with some other complex and difficult situations. And I can see that decisions, or pronouncements about decisions, are often made without enough information, and certainly without all the information. It’s a blessing of aging, of experiencing difficulties and struggles as well as joy, that you gain a much bigger grasp of complexity. That you learn to see the politics, the relationships and the history behind things. I find that I often feel overwhelmed as I get a glimpse of complexity, especially where there are decisions to be made.
But that has also given me a bigger vision of the greatness of the LORD, who sees everything from the beginning to the end, who has all the information, in all its complexity. He is never overwhelmed, he grasps all the politics, the relationships and the history. Praise God for his understanding of all that he has made.
The Lord looks down from heaven;
Psalm 33:13-15
he sees all the children of man;
from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
The Vicar's Wife 
So right . More info = better decisions . And brilliant reminder that GOD is so much bigger and can handle far more info than we can.
Thank you
Thank you for this comforting word.
That’s a verse to ponder further!
It reminds me that God thoroughly and intimately knows each individual, as described in Psalm 139:1-18 and 23-24.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+139&version=NIV
The psalm:
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
That God knows these details about everyone stuns me! This is hard to fathom—complex. Yet, like the verse you cited, also deeply comforting!
Thank you for this today. It’s helpful as we think about so many people hurting in the world, so many who are fearful, and also apply this truth to our own smaller contexts locally and personally. Finally, yes(!), it speaks reassurance in the overwhelming moments of decision making.
God, oh how thankful we are you know all and guide your world!
Your last statements as a prayer:
God, thank you that you “see[] everything from the beginning to the end, [have] all the information, in all its complexity. [You are] never overwhelmed, [you] grasp[] all the politics, the relationships and the history. [We] Praise [you] God for [your] understanding of all that [you have] made.’’
So helpful to turn those thoughts into prayer. Thanks limberkee!