Do you have a tendency to always want to be "in the know" about what's going on in your life? I used to. I was so addicted to reasoning that I felt obligated to try and figure out a solution for every situation I faced and even irresponsible at times if I didn't. But God in His mercy taught me some powerful truths that changed my life. I believe as you read this article, God will also help you to get comfortable not knowing all the answers.
Which Tree Are You Eating From?
The temptation to want to know everything has been around since the Garden of Eden. In fact, it's this craving for knowledge that caused man to sin in the first place. Genesis 2:8,9 says that God planted a garden, and in the center of that garden, He planted two trees—the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and blessing and calamity you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die (verses 16,17).
Well, most of us know the story. Satan came to Eve and got her to question God's word about the tree. Once his seeds of doubt were planted, he tempted her saying, ...You shall not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity (Genesis 3:4,5). Satan tempted Eve to want to know things that God obviously didn't want her or Adam to know, or He would have told them Himself. What happened? They ate from the forbidden tree. What were the results? They died spiritually and fell out of fellowship with God.
I believe eating from the tree of life represents trusting God, and eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents depending on our own knowing— relying on our ability to reason and figure things out for
ourselves. Every day, you and I are constantly given choices to trust God or lean to our own understanding. The more we "eat" of our own insight and understanding, the more we experience the symptoms of spiritual death, which include anxiety, worry, confusion, and frustration. But the more we keep our eyes on Jesus and put our trust in Him, the more we experience the fruit of life, which includes righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Does this mean that God wants us to be ignorant? No. It just means that He wants us to live by heart knowledge and not head knowledge—He wants us to live by spiritual discernment and not off the top of our heads.
How Can You Develop Discernment?
One of the main reasons why we don't have more spiritual discernment in our lives is because we spend too much time trying to figure things out on our own. The more we try to figure things out, the more aggravated and frustrated we become. You know the routine—we start asking God a lot of "Why" questions like, "Why did this happen to me?" and, "Why did they get blessed and I didn't?" Then we begin to wonder: "Lord, don't You love me? What's wrong with me? I'm trusting You to help me. I guess I must have sin in my life or not enough faith, otherwise I would be getting a breakthrough, too." With each question we ask, we fall deeper and deeper into confusion and despair.
The only way you and I can have spiritual discernment is to stop trying to figure everything out on our own and choose to wait on God for the answers. He is the One Who directs our steps. Proverbs 20:24 says, Man's steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way? Our minds are not always going to understand what's going on, but our spirits can. First Corinthians 2:14,15 says that ...the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him...But the spiritual man tries all things [he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things]....
Instead of trying to figure things out in your head, begin to search them out in your spirit. Go to God in prayer and say, "Father I need an answer in this situation I'm facing. I know that I've put my mind to it long enough, I will come up with an idea of my own. But I don't want my will—I want Yours. I ask You to show me in my spirit what I should do. I'm going to go about my business and not worry about this anymore. In Jesus' name, amen."
How Does God Lead You?
No matter how long you and I have walked with the Lord, we are always going to have some unanswered questions. In fact, that's part of being a mature Christian. But not knowing what's going on can be very scary at times.
I remember when God asked me to leave my full-time position at Life Christian Center and take my ministry north, south, east, and west. It was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make because it didn't make much sense to my mind. At the time. I was teaching a weekly women's meeting to about 400 women Bible courses at our church college and preaching in my pastor's absence. On top of that nobody knew me outside of the St. Louis area Needless to say, I had a lot of questions, such as. "Where am I supposed to go? What about office spacer? and Where are we going to get the money?" With great anxiety I brought my concerns to the Lord. But He didn't say much, so I waited. Eventually I became so miserable that I knew there was nothing else I could do except step out and obey God.
It was at this time that God led me to Hebrews 11:8, which says, "Urged on by faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went forth to a place which he was destined to receive as an inheritance: and he went, although he did not know or trouble his mind about where he was to go."
God
showed me that just as Abraham went not knowing where he was going. I was supposed to go. too. He didn't want me to wait for the entire blueprint of my life before I made a move— He wanted me to step out of my comfort zone and trust Him for further direction.
That's the way God leads us—step by step. His kingdom functions on TRUST—not reasoning. When we are obedient to do the first thing He tells us, then He'll show us the next thing. Proverbs 3:5,6 says, Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. As long as you and I are trying to figure everything out on our own, we are proving that we are not trusting God. But when we choose to rely on God to let us know what we need to know, when we need to know it. we prove that we are trusting Him and we put ourselves in position for Him to move miraculously.
Will You Take the Thirty-Day Challenge?
So get comfortable not knowing all the answers and spend time getting to know the One Who does. I challenge you to fast from reasoning for thirty days—make a commitment to yourself and God to stop trying to figure things out. Every time you're tempted with the anxious desire to know what to do. stand firm and say, "No. I'm on a fast. I'm not going to try and figure this out. I've prayed about it, and now I'm waiting on God for the answer."
I believe that as you do this, you will enter a new level of God's rest, begin to experience more of His peace and joy, and when you least expect it, He'll give you the heart revelation you've been searching for all along!
