The End of Understanding
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10 NIV
Insight
One day, when my cousin was in elementary school, my brother and I found ourselves talking to her about what she was learning in math class. She was quick to tell us all about how she’d mastered her multiplication tables. She was so proud of herself! We were so impressed with how well she was doing and how thoroughly she understood the concepts she was being taught. Though, my brother (a true math geek) decided to upend my cousin’s entire world.
“How difficult do you think math gets? When do you think you’ll have mastered all the math that there is?” He asked her. She knew that she’d have to learn how to perform long division the following school year. Though, she couldn’t fathom that math could get any more complicated than that. My brother explained to her that one day, she’d learn about imaginary numbers, derivatives, integrals, algebra, and statistics. She was awe-struck (and frankly, terrified).
Many of us think about wisdom the way my cousin once thought about math. We have a hard time imagining just how much knowledge evades us. We develop a sense of pride over how much we understand and forget to acknowledge just how much we don’t yet understand. We naively assume that we know all that God knows. Some of us have the audacity to tell others who is saved and who is not. We convince ourselves that we know exactly what God will do next. We assume our interpretation of Scripture is the ultimate, correct interpretation. We claim to know precisely why God has allowed certain things to happen. We judge those around us harshly for their naivety and ignorance, forgetting that we are unenlightened in countless ways, too. It is easy for those of us who know Bible verses like the back of our hand to assume that we have it all figured out. Yet, our sins communicate otherwise: we aren’t the perfectly-righteous, perfectly-wise religious people we like to believe ourselves to be.
God, in His grace, lets us know so much about Who He is and what He’s up to (John 15:15); but we can’t possibly know it all (Isaiah 55:8-9). We have to humble ourselves and accept that we don’t have all the answers. We have to confront the truth—as scary as it is—that our understanding is incomplete.
Wisdom is not how much we know; wisdom is recognizing that God knows so much more than we do.
It can be overwhelming to think about how much wisdom is out of our reach. We often get angry with God when we can’t understand His nature or His will. We feel like we are owed an explanation as to why illness, war, grief, and division persist in our world. We feel like we deserve to have our doubts erased and our questions answered. We feel helpless when we are exposed to the gaps in our knowledge. We hate our ignorance because it makes us feel out of control.
When we come to the end of our understanding, we have the opportunity to trust in God’s character and love for us. Our limited wisdom is a form of God’s grace. It teaches us to rely on Him rather than our own intellect (Proverbs 3:5). Though we can’t always come up with satisfactory explanations for why God does what He does, we can always trust that He is good. We don’t have to know it all. In fact, it would be burdensome and exhausting to know all that God knows.
When we don’t feel confident in any other wisdom, we can hold onto the one thing we know for sure: God is infinitely loving and ultimately kind. If we understand that God is present and moving, we know all we need to know.
Reflection
Do you forget how much you don’t know, or are you overwhelmed by all you can’t know? How can you center yourself around the one thing you can know for certain?
Prayer
Father, thank You for Your infinite wisdom. You know more than I could possibly comprehend. When I come to the end of my understanding, let me hold onto the Truth that You are a loving and caring God. Remind me that I don’t have to fear my own ignorance, because You know everything there is. Don’t let me get caught up in the uncertainties. Lord, humble me before You. When I acknowledge Your greatness, only then am I wise. Don’t let me forget how much I can’t comprehend. Remind me that I don’t have the correct answers to all of life’s questions; only You do. Remind me that You are the ultimate authority and judge; I am not. Lord, thank You for being You, and for offering Your Son to save me. Amen.
Port City writer Kate Redenbaugh wrote today’s devotional.