[Open up your Bible or open up the link above.]
...the mystery was made known to me by revelation...
Ephesians 3:3
God's Word. Sometimes it feels like a mystery. Reading it brings questions and wondering to mind.
What do you do with your questions? your I wonder what that means? moments?
We often have the temptation to begin thinking it out for ourselves. Using our reason to come up with some plausible explanation. But let me tell you, you don't have to do mental gymnastics to figure out the mysteries of God. Indeed, you cannot figure them out.
The mystery of His Word is made known by revelation.
When we have questions and wonders about God and things we come across in His Word, all we need do is ask. Put the question before Him. Ask for insight and understanding. And He will reveal the answer when you are ready for it.
...yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
For God gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding...
Proverbs 2:3-6 ESV
There are too many examples of those who have used their own reasoning in the Bible and were led astray. Those called false prophets in the Old Testament reasoned God would never allow His people to be removed from their promised land, He was God, and they were His people. They refused to listen to men like Jeremiah who brought them a word they didn't want to hear. A seemingly unreasonable word. Jeremiah told them to repent or God would burn Jerusalem and exile His people.
The Pharisees in Jesus's day had the Messiah all figured out. They reasoned He would come as a political leader, a warrior king, in order to defeat Rome. But they missed Him. He came as a babe in a manger. He came to defeat a supernatural enemy and overcome death by His own death.
Never forget. God's ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV
Our reasoning and logic will never come up with the right answer to the mysteries we run across in His Word. Only revelation by the power of the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ Jesus makes the way for us to see, know, and understand the wonders in God's Word.
Instead of reasoning, begin seeking.
Ask for revelation to the next mystery in His Word you encounter.
And wait.
Father God, Your greatness is beyond my understanding.
Open my eyes that I can see wonderful things in Your Word.
Bless me with the Spirit of revelation that I might know You better.
Help me resist the temptation of leaning on my own understanding
and reasoning according to the ways of the world.
[Note: In the Proverbs passage above you will notice God answers when we seek for understanding and insight as if we were mining for precious metals or digging for buried treasure. Both of these activities take time and energy. The kind of seeking we do is spiritual mining through prayer, Bible study, and obedience to His Word. Often times I've had revelations come when digging into the original language of the Bible or studying the historical context of the times. These are ways we seek while we wait for God to reveal.]
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