	Bob Hostetler > Devotions

Through the Knothole

by Bob Hostetler

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them" (Romans 8:28, NLT).

Norman Rockwell was a famous American painter of the twentieth century. A lot of his paintings were originally created for magazine covers, and they made Rockwell one of the most famous artists of his time.

One of Rockwell's paintings depicted a little boy watching a baseball game through a knothole in the ballpark fence. The boy presses his eye tightly against the hole, but he can still see only straight ahead. The baseball field is much larger than the part he can see. He can't see anything to either side of the field, and he's blind to anything that happens close to the fence. The players and umpires on the field and the spectators in the stands can see the whole game. But the boy looking through the knothole can only see a small part of what's going on.

We are like the boy looking through the knothole. Our view of life is like his view of that baseball game. We don't know why some things happen. We don't know what the future holds. That's because we can't see everything that is going on. Most of the "field" is beyond what we can understand.

It can be frustrating not to know the score. It can be disconcerting not to see the whole picture. But God sees the whole "game." He can see everything that is happening, and everything that's goingto happen. He has the power to work everything together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28). And he promises to do so.

Pray: "Lord, you know all things; please help me to trust you when I can see clearly, and when I cannot."

More devotions by Bob Hostetler...