Being Comfortable with the Unknown

The other day I had lunch with my very good friend Bob and we began to discuss the idea of how can we be comfortable in a world where there are so many things that are unknown. Bob made a very insightful comment that while there are many unknown things they are all known by a good God – and that makes all the difference!

As a new Christian back in the early 1980’s I didn’t know much about Jesus and the Bible and I had many “why” questions. However, as I studied my Bible many of my why questions found the answer in the sacred Scriptures. For example, I used to wonder if we could ever know the answer to the question – which came first the chicken or the egg? Scripture clearly tells us that God made man supernaturally from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7) and the animals from the ground (Genesis 2:19). So, this once unknown conundrum now had an answer – God made the chicken first.

Another question that I didn’t know the answer to was: If God is a good God why does He allow natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes? Again, the more I studied the Bible the more I found answers to these previous unknowns. While we are declared righteous and no longer under the bondage of sin once we accept Jesus into our hearts through faith, the Bible tells us in (Genesis 3:17) that our entire planet is still under a physical curse. And this I believe is why we still have so many natural disasters.

I could go on and list many other things that were “why” questions, without an answer for me, that through diligent study of the Scriptures are no longer unknown to me. But even after 40+ years of studying the Bible there are still things that I don’t know the answer to, and may never know the answer to, because as a finite human being I will never be able to comprehend everything about our complex universe and our infinitely powerful God. For example, why does a seemingly healthy mother give birth to a child with severe birth defects. Or how can a person ever be saved if he or she is totally dead in their sins and trespasses.

So, while there will always be things that remain unknown, one thing I have learned as a Christian is not to fear the unknown but to embrace it as just one of the ways that God uses to build up our faith and trust in Him. Just as a little child doesn’t know the answer to so many things, as he learns that His parents love him and that he can trust them, he can safely go to bed at night not worrying about the things he doesn’t know but concentrating on the security he finds in His relationship with mom and dad.

In the final analysis what may be unknown to us is known to God and rather than fear the unknown we need to rest comfortably in the arms of the One who knows everything. And to increase our comfort in the unknown, even more, we need to know deep in our hearts that God loves us and will always work all things together for good for His children. (Romans 8:28). Our desire as Christians should not be to know everything, but to know more and more the One who does – Jesus Christ.

Trying to figure out why God allows things that are truly unknowable is an exercise in futility. Instead, let’s learn to fall more in love with Jesus and trust that He always has our back. If I can leave you with one piece of wisdom that I have learned as a Christian, it would be that God does not want to be analyzed to death but to be loved and trusted. The more we love and trust God, the more we will no longer fear the unknown because when we face it, we need not face it alone, since Jesus is with us every step of the way!