A pastor friend once told me that faith implies not knowing. If we knew everything, we would not need to trust God.
Faith includes an admittance of finitude. It requires that we acknowledge our limits of knowledge and ability. Faith includes admitting that we do not have all the answers or all the strength. We do not have the ability to figure things out or fix our own sinful condition. Faith realizes our own deadness and limitations, then looks to God who is Life and has no limitations. Faith admits need, then looks to God and his promises to meet all our needs.
Faith is not only present at our conversion. It is the ongoing reality in the Christian life. We are continually in need of and dependent upon God. This is true regarding our daily needs, our understanding of the world around us, our understanding of our own sinful hearts, and most importantly, knowing God. We must submit ourselves to God. We cannot rightly know or understand anything apart from God’s wisdom as revealed in the Bible. This is why Paul says, “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). And he says, “…the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God…” (Galatians 2:20).
As we grow in spiritual maturity, we become more aware of our ignorance. We are finite. We are limited. Even as born-again new creations, we do not know how everything works. Actually, the new birth opens our eyes to see, with humility, that God is all-wise, not us. We don’t know everything. We don’t know a lot of things. We don’t even know the greatness of our own lack of knowledge. That’s why we must trust the Lord. We must trust the One who knows everything.
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