Devotionals for the Heart: Reasons why we don't need to know it all

Why We Don't Need to Know it All
A devotional by Kayla de Jong

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”—Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

You have likely experienced some confusion when reading your Bible, as have I.

How did you react? Did you beg God to open your heart to comprehend His Word? Did you push your questions to the back of your mind only to have them later intrude your thoughts and induce worry? Did you just give up on reading the Bible altogether?

I often put pressure on myself when I come across a biblical concept that I don’t understand because I have believed the lie that to be a follower of God, I have to understand what every passage in the Bible means and attempt to make the entire Bible apply to my life.

I subconsciously think I am doing the righteous thing by fretting about how I don’t know the answer to my spiritual question and proceed to deny myself peace of mind until I get the answer I “deserve”. But God wants us to have peace in all the storms of life, even the spiritual ones. And God does not give us all the answers, but He does give us hope!

Let’s look at some verses to see what God wants us to do when we are struggling with wanting to “know it all” about the Bible. While the verses may not have been written about this specific issue, I think they are reminders of how God deals with His children, what He expects of us, and how He defines wisdom.

Psalms 139 is a great chapter about God’s omniscience and omnipresence, and I suggest you take some time to familiarize yourself with it. Psalm 139:1 (NIV) says, “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.” To me, this is saying that God knows how much I desire to be close to Him. And He knows what spiritual revelations I actually need, and which ones I convince myself I need in order to serve God better. He also knows when I am making an idol out of having all the answers to all my questions as a Christian. Yes, it is possible to idolize the attainment of information.

Here are some more verses to ponder as we consider this topic:

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV) says: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Proverbs 9:10 (NIV) says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Now let’s summarize all the verses from this devotional. 

Here are the beliefs I can cling to when a desire for all the answers to life’s questions sows seeds of worry and unease in me:

• Reverent fear of God and worshipping Him is true wisdom. It is part of my purpose.
• When I stray from living in God’s wisdom, His grace covers me. I can delight in not knowing it all because in my weakness (or lack of understanding), I am aware of my need for God’s insight and guidance.
• God knows me better than I know myself. If I trust Him, I will obey Him, not live according to my own understanding of how I think life should be.
• My limited knowledge is nothing compared to God’s infinite wisdom.

This is what God is teaching me: Being a Christian does not require me to know everything God knows. Not knowing everything requires me to trust God. I think we could all benefit from praying less for information and more often for revelation. The key difference between the two is that information is the attainment of knowledge while revelation is the attainment of understanding. We can spend countless hours gaining information from the Bible and other resources about biblical context and culture, but I believe God is the source of revelation and of understanding. It is when we have revelation that we know God and His ways more intimately in a life-changing, practical sort of way.

Let’s Pray:

Dear Lord,

Help me to live in peace when I do not understand aspects of Christianity and the Bible that I think I should. Thank you for Your grace and guidance and for teaching me that You alone are God, and You alone are omniscient. May I worship You, not knowledge. Thank You for blessing me with Your wisdom and may I live wisely to glorify You.

In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “Oh, I Want To Know You More” by Steve Green. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Hi! I’m Kayla de Jong! 

I’ve lived in Indiana my whole life and was blessed to have been raised in a Christian household. I have an associate degree in library science and have worked in various libraries for over six years. I love reading and writing!

I have mostly written poems, some of which were published in the compiled works of a local writers guild. I am in the middle of seeking a new career. I would love to be an author, artist, or journalist. But most of all, I would love to be a stay-at-home mom someday.

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Connect with Kayla:
E-mail: kaylagmcdaniel@gmail.com