I hear that line fairly often.  By the time people come to me with their problems they have passed “simple.”  If it was simple, they wouldn’t be seeking help.  Part of the reason that problems become complicated is because we are complicated.  “Complicated” is a funny word, it means, “made up of parts intricately involved; hard to untangle, solve, analyze…”  (Webster).  That describes the human beings I know quite well.  The physical body alone is complex but at least we can distinguish the parts from one another.  But we are more than body, we are spirit and the non-physical parts of us are very hard to distinguish from one another.  Theologians make grand attempts to separate soul, spirit, conscience, heart, will, mind etc but at the end of the day they have to admit “it is not as neat and tidy a manner as some would prefer.”  One of my favorite authors wrote, “We must understand the soul if we are to care for it, after all, we cannot care for what we do not understand.”  At first glance that makes sense but the more I think about it, the more I struggle with the statement.  Biblically speaking I think of Paul who wrote, “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.”  I believe Paul means he doesn’t always understand himself.  Reading Romans 7, I know he understood where this complexity came from but nevertheless, he knew there was only One who really knew and understood him.  Pragmatically, I care for things quite often that I do not understand.  For example, I do not understand internal combustion engines.  The good news is, I know people who do!  The same is true for my complicated inner life.  I can’t figure myself out but I know Someone who knows me better than I know myself.  He knows the divisions of “joint and marrow” and “soul and spirit.”  There is so much talk of the “self” these days.  People are into self-promotion, self-actualization, self-awareness and self-assertion.  The saints of old used to speak of living, “Coram Deo.”  It is a Latin phrase that means “before or in the presence of God.”  The truth is, the self is complicated.  The only safe way to live in this universe is “in the presence of God.”  He knows us.  (Refresh your memory in Psalm 139).  The Lord is at hand.  We can do our best to understand ourselves and the Bible is the best textbook on the human condition.  But, the One who made us knows us best and we really need to simply place ourselves “before Him.”  To me, this is why it makes so much sense to learn God’s ways and love His word.  The hymn-writer put it this way…”Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”  That may over-simplify a complex issue but for the past several thousand years the saints who have obeyed God and left the outcomes to Him have found a measure of serenity that most in this world would envy.  You are complicated.  Life is hard.  Jesus is the expert on what life is about and how to live.  Love Him.  Obey Him.  Trust Him.  Thank Him.  The Kingdom is His.  All the Power is His.  All the Glory belongs to Him.  Let’s like it that way.