Want to mature? Stop trying to understand it all.

Christian, don't let the fact that you don't understand something stop you from knowing that it is true and good.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." (Prov. 3:5, italics mine)

I've observed so much fear in the church recently. Fear of good things, even. There's a tendency to dismiss something when one cannot understand it. But Jesus tells us that we are not to lean on our own understanding in the first place. Our understanding is always skewed, always lacking because we are not fully complete yet--we only see things in part. I've seen people doubt miracles God has done because they cannot understand how they happened. I have seen people disregard an interpretation of Scripture because they understood it a different way. And, in truth, I have been one of these people at times.

How arrogant are we though? That we would think understanding is in our grasp without the power of God is a total joke. Jesus's own disciples, who saw him in the flesh and walked with him every day, struggled to understand. In John 6, when Jesus explains that he actually is the Bread of Life and that his flesh is true food, the disciples and many others cannot hang. "When many of his disciples heard it, they said, 'This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?'...After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him." How sad is this? Many didn't understand what Jesus meant by this and they thought him to be crazy, so they dismissed him and left. They missed out on eternal life in Jesus and on the joy of being known by him because they needed to understand in order to feel comfortable.

Raise your hand if that's you. Do you think you need to understand in order for Jesus to lead you? Do you need to feel comfortable with all that Jesus says in order to follow Him? If that is the case, I'm sorry but you may be believing a lie. The thing is, if understanding was what we needed for faith to be real, it wouldn't be faith at all. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Heb. 11:1) Our whole foundation is built on belief in something we do not understand. Can you tell me that you fully understand how God can become flesh and be born from a teenage virgin? Can you tell me that you fully understand that someone, namely God, can be tortured and killed for something he did not do and not retaliate in the moment? Can you tell me that you fully understand the process of a body being dead and then three days later alive again? And can you tell me that you understand that a just God could love this evil world enough to provide grace and mercy and a way out of eternal punishment?

These are the basics of our Christian faith, and they cannot be understood. We can only scratch the surface of what these mean. I have found that I grow in maturity the more I realize what I do NOT know or understand. This is totally opposite from what I was taught. I was taught that the more you understand, the more you grow. The more knowledge you have, the better. But God is radically shifting my view (just like he always does when we are willing to listen). Actually, "None is righteous, no not one. No one understands, no one seeks for God" (Rom. 3.11). Did you read that? No one understands. And then there's this:

"Thus says the Lord: 'Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.'" (Jer. 9:23-24, italics mine)

There it is--the key to growth in the Lord. Lean in. Listen. We are to understand and know the Lord. Nothing else. This is our job. It is of utmost importance--knowing Him. And how do we know Him? It's so simple. He invites us, and draws us, and we are welcomed into His presence. We know Him by spending time with Him in His presence (with His word and by His spirit). We pray continually. We ask Him questions. And we listen. Pause. Don't just rattle off a list to Him and move on with your day. Listen to what He is saying to you. Practice what you already know instead of seeking more knowledge.

"About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrines of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God." (Heb. 5:11-6:1)

The mature here are described as people who practices discernment between good and evil. And how is it that we get discernment? We spend time with the Lord. He gives us discernment by the power of His spirit. 

Christian, stop seeking more knowledge and more understanding. Go to your private prayer closet and seek the Lord. Spend time with Him and have Him help you practice what you already know. Pray with your friends. Pray with your family. He is worthy to be sought every minute of our lives. And in seeking Him, you will know Him. And in knowing Him, you will delight in Him and He will delight in you.

Put the podcast down, set the book aside. Sit and weep in silence. And stop trying to understand how it all works. Just for one minute, stop. He's in the quiet. He's waiting for you. Go. And in the going, you will mature.