Trusting God Through the Mystery: Chapel Reflection with Isaac De La Rosa

Isaac De La Rosa marvels at the mystery of God.

“God has shown up in my life in so many different ways, and yet I still don’t fully understand who He is,” he told members of the Kuyper community gathered in the Vos Chapel on October 10 for a twice-weekly service. 

He acknowledged that it can be difficult to wrap our minds around a God whose character never changes even as He manifests Himself to us in varying ways. As human beings, we crave the comfort of having all the answers, he said, but God intentionally does not show all of Himself to us at once.

This is because God wants us to find a deeper, truer comfort, the kind that comes from trusting Him despite our uncertainties, De La Rosa told the audience.

“But we still want to know what God is doing all the time,” he added. “Mystery doesn’t always feel ok when you’re the one living through it.”

He likened this to the story of the Israelites after their exodus from Egypt, during their period of desert wandering. They had to embark on a journey with a path they could not always see, following a God they did not fully understand. 

“They were not thrilled,” he said with a smile. “We who have the Bible know how their story ended, but they had to simply follow a tower of clouds during the day and a tower of fire at night.”

De La Rosa reminded his listeners that the Israelites eventually did grow weary of the uncertainty, as we all often do. They strayed from trusting God and crafted an idol, he said, just as we often do when we rely on things other than God to sustain us.

“Life is hard. Surviving in the desert, whether real or metaphorical, and depending on something mysterious is hard,” he emphasized.

But, he added, God is faithful to us just as He was to the Israelites in the desert and trusting Him through the mystery is essential to making the journey.

“Our job is not to define God, but simply to trust Him through it all,” De La Rosa said.