A few weeks ago I read a prayer by a pastor that said this;

“I welcome the moments where mystery is greater in my heart than is my understanding“

This stopped me in my tracks. I had a few questions to ask.

1 – Was this a true statement?

2 – If it is true, is it true in my life?

3 – If it is true and not true in my life, how can I make it true?

I’m still wrestling with these questions but here’s what I’ve figured out so far.

I’ve unconsciously followed a finite view of God in the years that I have been following Him. Somewhere I have held a belief that the longer I follow, the more I learn, the longer I read and pray, the more I will understand of Him. To put it simply, if I started knowing 0% about God then it stands to reason that with each passing year that % will grow until there comes a time where there is less of Him to understand than there was at the beginning.

The one major problem with that position is that He isn’t a book, movie or subject that has a natural end. He is alive, infinite, everywhere and everything. I never can get to the end of God, even if my days on earth where stretched to hundreds of years.

There were always be mystery when it comes to God

Is it wrong to seek further understanding?

No, not from what I read in Scripture. The Bible is full of references where God gives people understanding or people of understanding are chosen for His work. Understanding isn’t wrong. It’s not wrong to see it grow, but our posture in the understanding is key.

Understanding in God’s eyes is not the enemy of mystery.

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter to search out a matter is the glory of kings. Proverbs 25:2 (NIV)

He invites us to push in for more, to understand and to search out a matter. I suspect though that His motivation is less about the answer that the search. The mystery calls us to push into Him more, to spend time with Him, to partner with Him in the journey.

Mystery doesn’t exist to frustrate us, it’s an invitation.

We should welcome it, treasure it, wrestle with it.

Who wants a God that we could fully understand?