We all have questions about God. When I was younger, I used to sit on the top bunk of my bunk bed and stare at the ceiling, trying to imagine how big the universe was and how God could possibly have created all of it. I wondered what He was doing in Heaven, how often He was watching me, and how He could watch me and everyone else at the same time. I was fortunate that my dad taught me how to read the Bible from a young age. He taught me the history, why the books were in the order that they were, and how to read each book in context. Using these, I could find the answers to many of my questions.
I couldn’t find the answers to all of them, and this both frustrated and scared me. I was frustrated because I had just recently become a Christian, and I wanted to know everything I could about it. Why couldn’t I have all the answers? I was scared because I thought if I couldn’t find them that I was doing it wrong. Was I a bad Christian? Did everyone else know these things already? Was I even saved?
I think all of us have been in this boat at some point when it comes to our faith. For some, we are frustrated with the unknown. We want to solve every puzzle, unravel every mystery, and widen our knowledge daily when it comes to God. Others of us have real concerns about God that we are scared to ask the answer to. Questions about war, slavery, sexual immorality- questions that we are afraid others will ask us to answer.
I go into a bit more detail in our book College Prep for Christians, but here are two things I want you to know right now.
First, God may not give you the answer to everything because He wants you to earnestly seek after Him. Just consider this scripture in Acts.
“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us…” (Acts 17:26-27)
Second, God may not give you the answer to everything because He wants to see your faith.
A popular verse in Proverbs says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 5:6).
To bring these together, here’s what I usually do and I encourage you to try it too. Find answers to questions that you know, if unanswered, could shake your faith. I call these foundational questions. Don’t let these questions sit in your head. Read, ask trusted mentors, and do your research to build the foundation of your faith.
Matthew 7:7 says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
At the same time, know there are some questions that you may not find the answers to in this life. When I read this verse from Matthew, I believe in its promise, but I also note that Jesus doesn’t say when I will find. I believe that there are some things that God is waiting to reveal to me until after I see Him in Heaven. That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop wondering and seeking—I think He loves when I do that. But I think there may be something all the more satisfying about Him revealing knowledge to me in eternity that I don’t quite understand yet. Either way, I’m confident in my foundational questions, and I’ll keep on looking for the answers to the others. As I do, I’ll meditate on this scripture in Isaiah, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9).
