Perhaps

Ron Writes

The word “perhaps” is an interesting word in the Bible. Upon entering the Promised land, Caleb said, “perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out as the Lord has spoken” (Jos. 14:12). Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “perhaps the Lord will help us” (1 Sam. 14:6). When David’s baby was near death, he fasted and wept thinking “who knows, perhaps the LORD will be gracious to me that the child might live (2 Sam. 12:22). When Paul wrote to Philemon about Onesimus he said, “perhaps he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever” (Philemon 15). 

The word “perhaps” implores that God might work in the favorable way we want. The dictionary says that “perhaps” is used “when one does not wish to be too definite or assertive in the expression of an opinion.” It is also a reminder that we can’t be too sure about what God is doing. James says “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city…. Instead, you ought to say, “if the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that” (Jm 4:13, 15). We don’t always understand God’s ways. 

The good news is that God cares for us. He loves us. He wants the best for us. God is active in our lives. He hears our prayers. We can depend on Him and trust Him. As someone has said, “if God had a wallet, He’d have your photo in it.” Every morning He sends you a sunrise and closes each day with a beautiful sunset. For a Christian, every crumb of food, every drop of water, every breath we take has been given us by God. 

There are cycles of nature - time and chance overtake us all. There are consequences of our poor choices and the poor choices of others. There are events that bring us to our knees. If we’re not careful we can lose perspective and forget to see God’s hand in the big picture. Perhaps God will allow us to continue to experience His goodness!