With God, Do Not Wait for It to Make Sense

I had a teacher who used to ask one simple question after every lesson: “Does it make sense?”

Sometimes he’d switch it up: “Sense? No sense? Nonsense?”

Most of the time, we’d just nod and say, “Sense!”

It was a small question, but it carried weight. It was his way of checking whether we’d actually understood what he taught.

Today, I want to say thank you to my lecturer, my pastor, and forever my friend, Rev. Sebastian Muthoka. Thank you for the lessons, the questions, the patience, and the moments that helped us understand not only what was being taught, but also how to think about what we were learning.

But there’s another lesson I’ve come to appreciate over the years—one that turns that familiar question on its head:

With God, sometimes you have to obey before it makes sense.

We Want the Math Before the Miracle

Let’s be honest. We want God to explain everything before we obey Him.

We want the mathematics of the miracle. We want to understand the process before we take the first step. We want to see the destination before we begin the journey.

But God doesn’t always give us an explanation. Sometimes He gives us a word.

And when God gives you a word, the question isn’t always, “Does it make sense?”

Sometimes the question is simply: “Will I obey?”

Scripture Keeps Showing Us the Same Pattern

Look at the examples we’re given:

• Abraham had to leave without knowing everything about where he was going.
• Noah had to build an ark before the rain came.
• Moses had to stretch out his rod before the Red Sea parted.
• Joshua and Israel had to walk around Jericho before the walls fell.
• Peter had to let down the nets again after a night of catching nothing.

Again and again, Scripture shows us that obedience can come before understanding.

God Sometimes Reverses the Order

We’re comfortable with the normal order of things:

We learn. Then we understand. Then we believe. Then we act. Then we see results.

But God sometimes reverses the order.

He says: Obey first. And only afterwards do you understand what He was doing.

This is why obedience can be uncomfortable.

God may ask you to do something that doesn’t fit your experience. He may lead you somewhere you cannot explain. He may give you an instruction that challenges your calculations.

• He may ask you to start when you think you are not ready.
• He may tell you to forgive when you feel justified.
• He may tell you to give when you think you do not have enough.
• He may tell you to go when you would rather stay.
• He may tell you to speak when you are afraid.
• He may tell you to start when you cannot see how it will end.

Do not wait for the normal order of things. Obey God.

The God Who Handles the Impossible Gives You an Unseeable Word

The God who handles the impossible will sometimes give you an instruction that is impossible to understand from where you are standing.

Think about it.

If everything God asks you to do can already be explained by your experience, knowledge, resources and ability, perhaps you are not being stretched beyond yourself.

Faith often begins where human certainty ends.

God may give you a word that you cannot yet see. He may give you a promise whose fulfilment is not visible. He may give you a direction whose destination is unknown.

And sometimes, the word is simply: Obey.

You may not see it. You may not understand it. You may not know how it will happen.

But you can obey.

The Secret Is Not Hard Work; It Is Obedience

We often celebrate hard work.

And hard work matters. Discipline matters. Preparation matters. Skill matters. Experience matters.

But there are moments when none of these can substitute for obedience.

You can work hard in the wrong direction. You can have experience and still miss God’s instruction. You can have skill and still need God’s word. You can have knowledge and still need to obey.

The secret is not always working harder. Sometimes the secret is simply obeying what God has said.

Faith That Moves

We often say, “Have faith.” And rightly so.

But there are moments when faith expresses itself through obedience.

You can say you believe God, but obedience gives your belief movement.

• Noah believed God, but his belief built an ark.
• Abraham believed God, but his belief moved him from his country.
• Peter believed Jesus, but his belief made him lower the nets again.

Faith is not merely agreeing with God in your mind. Sometimes faith is putting your feet where God has told you to put them.

Before you see the result, obey.

You’ll Understand Some Things Only After You Obey

There are things you will understand about God only after you obey Him.

Not because obedience earns God’s power, but because obedience positions you to experience what God has spoken.

Imagine standing at the edge of the Jordan River. The river is still there. The promise is ahead. And God says, “Step in.”

The instruction may not make sense until you step.

Sometimes the miracle is waiting on the other side of your obedience.

The problem is that we want God to show us the miracle before we take the step. But sometimes God says: Take the step, and then you will see.

When God Says “Go” and You Ask “Where?”

We are naturally drawn to what we can see. We want evidence. We want confirmation. We want guarantees.

But obedience does not always come with visible evidence.

There are moments when God says: “Go.” And you ask: “Where?”

He says: “Start.” And you ask: “How?”

He says: “Trust Me.” And you ask: “When?”

And sometimes the answer is simply: “Now.”

That is where obedience becomes real.

Obedience Is Tested When It Seems Unachievable

It is easy to obey when the instruction is convenient. It is easy to obey when the outcome is predictable. It is easy to obey when you have enough resources. It is easy to obey when everybody agrees with you.

But obedience is tested when the instruction looks unachievable.

When God tells you to do something and everything around you says, “That cannot happen,” what will you do?

When your experience says no, but God’s word says go, what will you choose?

When your calculations say impossible, but God’s instruction says proceed, what will you do?

When it sounds unachievable, start with a step.

You may not be able to accomplish everything at once. But you can take the next step. You can make the call. You can begin. You can pray. You can forgive. You can give. You can go. You can say yes.

Sometimes the biggest act of faith is not completing the whole journey. It is taking the first step.

Obedience Is Also Tested When It Is Easy

Interestingly, obedience is not only tested when things are difficult. It is also tested when things are easy.

Sometimes God asks us to do something simple, and because it is simple, we ignore it.

We are looking for a spectacular instruction while neglecting the simple one. We want the great assignment but avoid the small act of obedience.

But obedience is obedience whether the instruction is big or small. If God says it, it matters.

The question is not how impressive the instruction is. The question is whether God said it.

When Your Skills Are Exhausted

There comes a moment when your experience reaches its limit.

Your skills have been exhausted. Your knowledge has reached its boundary. Your contacts cannot help anymore. Your money cannot solve it. Your strength cannot carry it. Your experience cannot explain it.

And you are left asking: “What do I do now?”

Perhaps that is where you need to stop trying to make everything make sense and start listening to God.

Because there are situations where your sense is not enough. Your experience is not enough. Your calculations are not enough. Your strength is not enough.

But God is enough.

Peter and the Fishing That Did Not Make Sense

Luke 5 gives us a beautiful picture of this.

Peter was a fisherman. Fishing was not a strange occupation to him. He knew the lake. He understood the work. He knew that nets had to be used. He knew what a successful fishing night looked like.

Yet after working all night, Peter and the others had caught nothing.

Then Jesus told him to go out into the deep and let down the nets.

From a human perspective, Peter had a reason to question the instruction.

He had experience. He had already tried. He was tired. The timing did not seem right.

But Peter eventually responded to Jesus:

“Nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”
— Luke 5:5 NKJV

That word “nevertheless” is powerful.

Peter was essentially saying:

“I have my experience.” Nevertheless.
“I have tried already.” Nevertheless.
“I know fishing.” Nevertheless.
“My experience tells me something else.” Nevertheless, at Your word…

That is obedience.

Peter’s experience had reached its limit, but Jesus’ word had not.

And when Peter obeyed, the result was a catch so great that the nets began to break.

The miracle did not begin with Peter understanding everything. It began with Peter obeying Jesus.

What Is Not Making Sense in Your Life?

Now let me ask you a question.

What is that thing that is not making sense?

What has God been asking you to do that you keep trying to explain before you obey?

What instruction have you delayed because you cannot see the outcome?

What step have you refused to take because you do not know what will happen after it?

What has your experience told you is impossible?

What has your past told you cannot happen again?

What has your limitation told you that you cannot accomplish?

Maybe you have been trying to make sense of something that God is asking you to obey.

Maybe the question is no longer: “Does it make sense?”

Maybe the question is: “Has God said it?”

Because if God has said it, your responsibility may not be to understand everything. Your responsibility may simply be to obey.

Christ Brings Sense to the Senseless

Peter met Christ in the middle of his fishing experience. Jesus entered a situation that Peter understood naturally and challenged him spiritually.

Peter knew fishing. Jesus knew what Peter did not know.

Peter knew the lake. Jesus knew the miracle.

Peter knew the empty nets. Jesus knew the overflowing nets.

And that is the beauty of walking with Christ.

He can address the very areas where you think you know everything.

He can enter your experience. He can enter your profession. He can enter your family. He can enter your ministry. He can enter your finances. He can enter your dreams. He can enter your failure.

He can enter the place where you have said, “I have tried everything.”

And He can speak a word.

He Can Bring Sense to Nonsense

There are moments when life looks like nonsense.

You pray, but nothing seems to change. You work, but the results do not come. You try again, but you fail again. You obey, but you still cannot see the outcome.

Yet God is not confused by what confuses you.

What looks like a dead end to you may be a doorway that you cannot yet see.

What looks like failure may be preparation.

What looks impossible may be the place where God’s power becomes visible.

You do not have to understand everything before you trust Him. You do not have to see everything before you obey Him. You do not have to know everything before you take the next step.

He Is Your Sense

Perhaps this is the greatest lesson:

Christ is not merely the One who gives you sense. Christ is your sense.

When you cannot understand the situation, hold on to Him.

When your calculations fail, hold on to Him.

When your experience says it cannot happen, hold on to Him.

When your strength is exhausted, hold on to Him.

When you cannot see the way forward, hold on to Him.

He is your sense when life makes no sense.

Peter had a boat. Peter had nets. Peter had experience.

But what Peter needed in that moment was not another fishing technique. He needed a word from Jesus.

And when Jesus speaks, obedience becomes the bridge between what you hear and what you are yet to see.

So, If God Has Spoken…

Do not wait for it to make sense.

Obey.

Before faith takes shape, obey.

Before understanding comes, obey.

Before the miracle appears, obey.

Before you see, obey.

When it is impossible, obey.

When it is easy, obey.

When your experience says no, obey.

When your strength is exhausted, obey.

When you cannot explain it, obey.

Because sometimes the greatest question is not: “Does it make sense?”

It is: “Has God said it?”

And if He has said it—Obey.

A Question for You

What is God asking you to do that you have delayed because it does not make sense?

Could your next miracle be on the other side of a simple step of obedience?

“Nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.”
— Luke 5:5 NKJV

What is your “nevertheless” today?

If this spoke to you, share it with someone who needs the reminder. And if you have a “nevertheless” story—a moment when you obeyed before it made sense—I’d love to hear it in the comments.