By David ReayFriday 14 Jun 2019LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 2 minutes
When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. (NLT)
It is dangerous to confuse faith with certainty. Faith always has an element of mystery or ambiguity about it. If we reckon we know everything, we are arrogant people, not faith-filled people. Paul tells the Corinthian Christians that it is childish to think we know more than we do. In this life, our understanding of God and life is partial. Though it is good to know God’s knowledge of us is not so limited.
Once we think we have God figured out we have created an idol, a God of our own imagining. While God has given us sufficient knowledge of himself he has not given us exhaustive knowledge. While God is able to give us wisdom to navigate life, he has not shown us in detail how things will work out.
We are not in control of life, and thinking that ‘strong faith’ can put us in control is a dangerous thing. Faith has to come to grips with mystery; faith is not about knowing all there is to know but about trusting God will be true to his character. Faith is not being certain that a specific thing will happen but is about being certain that God will be with us whatever happens.
Ultimately, faith is not about our knowing what God is doing, but about our trusting that he knows what he is doing.
Blessings
David