I am not Skilled to Understand (from the archives)

As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. Ecclesiastes 11:5

I am not Skilled to Understand
Words by Dorothy Greenwell

I am not skilled to understand
What God hath willed, what God hath planned;
I only know that at His right hand
Is One Who is my Savior!

I take Him at His word indeed;
“Christ died for sinners”—this I read;
For in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my Savior!

That He should leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die,
You count it strange? So once did I,
Before I knew my Savior!

And oh, that He fulfilled may see
The travail of His soul in me,
And with His work contented be,
As I with my dear Savior!

Yea, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this Spring;
That He Who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior!

There are many things in this life that I will never understand. I am sure you can look at your life and say the same thing: God moves in a mysterious way. He is God, and He has the plan for my life, even though I may not understand it at this time.

This hymn acknowledges that I don’t have the skill to understand, and then reminds me of the one thing I need to know: at God’s right hand is One who is My Savior!

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. Hebrews 1:3-4

And I, like the writer of this hymn, know that I need a Savior. Paul tells us that all of us are sinners and that Christ died for us, even while we were in our sinful state.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

The Love of God was demonstrated through Christ’s death on our behalf. We were the ones who deserved to die, yet Jesus, who lived a sinless life, took our place.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

And now, that Christ who died for you and me has been exalted to God’s right hand.

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him. Acts 5:30-32

Like the writer of this hymn, I want my strength and solace to come from this very fact: that He who lives to be my King once died to be my Savior.

Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. Isaiah 12:2