The Wonder of Revelation: Seeking Wisdom from God’s Heart
“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.”
This is an excerpt from an article originally published at The Truly Co.
Do you sometimes struggle to understand a passage of Scripture? Perhaps you’ve been confused or troubled by a passage and thought, “What were you up to there, God?” or “How does that reflect your goodness, Lord?” I assume I’m not alone here.
For many years after becoming a Christian, I believed that a questioning heart was a faithless heart. I struggled with my propensity to question much of what I read in Scripture, believing those questions made me an unworthy Christian. I could very much identify with the man in Mark 9:24 who exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” But this led me to label myself as double-minded, compounding my sense of unworthiness.
I’m grateful that God, in his goodness, has spoken into that broken identity through his Word and through the wise counsel of others, helping me see that asking questions is usually more indicative of an honest heart than a faithless one.
We don’t usually see a young child’s honest question as impertinent. More than likely, we would take the time to answer the question in a way that a child could understand.
To God, we are like the curious child who loves to ask questions. He doesn’t disparage our questions; he welcomes them. But his answers only come according to his perfect timing. I’ve often been surprised when something I’ve pondered for years suddenly becomes clear. This is the nature of revelation.
An older and wiser friend once explained that when we ask God for an explanation and don’t receive an in-depth answer, it may be that our hearts are not yet prepared to receive it. This can be a hard reality to accept. In our post-modern culture, we often crave immediate answers and instant gratification. But revelation isn’t always instantaneous—it is often a process or a journey.
So what exactly is revelation?…
‘Sometimes healing comes by waving the white flag of surrender when everyone else is telling you to stay in the fight.’
