What is it about a mystery that makes us curious?
What is it about a mystery that causes us to want to dig and search for truth and understanding?
What is it about a mystery that creates such a desire to seek out and to find and discover, that we’re somehow able to push past the fears that would typically hold us back? It is there in that place we find the courage to ask.
There is something about a “mystery” that can draw us in—captivate us.
Curiosity can cause humans to do some pretty brave things…. but it also cause them to do some pretty stupid things.
God wants the mystery to draw us closer to Him…
But we must also know that the enemy wants to use mystery to tempt us to seek answers, independently of God.
When Jesus told the parables, the disciples were intrigued and asked Him to go deeper into the meaning with them when they were away from the crowd. There was a closeness there…
…But Eve was drawn to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, even though God said it was forbidden.
“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.“—Genesis 3:6
She crossed the line.
God uses mystery to draw us to Himself… He uses our “thirst” and our “curiosity” to lead us to ask Him—another way to have closer relationship with Him.
But we must be careful to only be drawn to Him, and not attempt to go beyond His leading, “independent of Him”… for the answers we are seeking.
“He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.”—Acts 1:7
I’m realizing that the thirst for knowledge, the desire for understanding… must be consecrated to God.
It must be submitted and surrendered to Him, lest we get carried away and end up digging into things we were never meant to dig into.
If we’re not submitted to His leading, if our greater desire is not relationship and closeness with Him, we can suddenly find our noses stuck in places they were never meant to be in the first place…
Here’s another related question to ponder:
Am I teachable? Or do I simply just feel the need to know?
Father, I’m realizing that I have such a desire to understand, to seek out, to discover… there is something about a mystery that makes my curiosity grow and grow… but I’m also realizing that this kind of desire can be dangerous if I am not fully surrendered to You. I believe You’re showing that to me this morning, I believe You’re helping me to grasp and understand the weight and the importance of it in my heart. You’re causing it to sink in. Thank You, Lord. ? No matter how much I could ever want to “know all the things” and “discover the meaning behind every mystery”…. there is no knowledge that is worth anything it it means stepping away from You to find it. So Father, I ask that You’ll cause this curiosity in me to only draw me closer and closer to You, and I believe that’s exactly what You’ve been doing, and I believe that’s what You’ll continue to do.
…And Lord, I submit my curiosity to You. ✨You are faithful to purify my heart, protecting me from destruction. Father, You know all things, and You know what is best. Let my curiosity and hunger only draw me closer and closer to You. ?
-Heather ?