When Life Doesn't Make Sense: Trusting the God Who Sees What We Can’t
By Michaelle Moran
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12 (ESV)
I'm not a fan of mirrors. And don't even get me started on funhouse mirrors. They're from the devil... except for the ones that make me look skinny.
Like most people, I don't enjoy being reminded of what I really look like—especially when I catch my reflection and think, "Mom, when did you get here?” I’d much rather live in the "Ignorance Is Bliss" or the "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" camp, where mirrors simply don't exist and I’m completely unaware of my appearance.
But that's not reality, is it? Mirrors (and cameras!) are everywhere and whether we like it or not, they have a way of showing us what we'd rather not see. Yet even the clearest mirror can't show us what God sees.
In his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul encourages believers to pursue love above all else (1 Corinthians 13). As he does, he reminds them that our knowledge is partial, but God's is complete. We can only see in part, but He sees the whole picture—past, present, and future. It is this truth that I hope will encourage you today.
In Corinthians 13:12 Paul writes, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
The mirrors in Paul's day were made of polished bronze rather than glass, so their reflections were dim and imperfect. Paul used that familiar image to remind his readers that human knowledge is limited.
But that's only half the picture. There's an even greater truth in this verse than the fact that our knowledge is limited. It's that God's isn't.
Paul reminds us that although we don't fully know, God fully knows us. He sees what we cannot. He knows what we do not. Nothing has ever caught Him by surprise—not your diagnosis, not your loss, not your financial situation, not even your sin.
Nothing is beyond His knowledge or outside His care.
How do we know this?
Because we’ve seen Jesus.
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” —John 14:9
In Jesus we see both the heart of God and the perfect knowledge of God. He knew what was in people's hearts before they spoke a word (John 2:24–25). He knew the betrayal, suffering, and death that awaited Him. Yet His perfect knowledge never diminished His compassion. He entered our broken world, wept with those who grieved, and bore our sins on the cross—not for His sake, but for ours.
Because we see the Father when we see Jesus, we know we can trust God—even when we see only dimly and know only in part.
Friend, maybe you're not in a place where you feel you can trust God right now. Maybe you're in the thick of the battle and can barely think beyond the fight you're facing. I understand that more than you know. But may I gently encourage you with what this verse has been saying to my own heart?
I don't have to understand—or even know why—something is happening in my life to completely trust the God who loves me, sees what I cannot, and knows what I do not. Perhaps what I'm going through—or what you're going through—is accomplishing something beyond this present life. We don't know what God may accomplish through it, but He does. And God is not unaware of our circumstances or unloving towards us in the midst of them.
So, the next time you look in a mirror, take a long look at the child God loves—battle scars and all. And although you may not like what you see, remember God sees more than we do.
