The Things We Can and Cannot Know
Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 29-30; Psalm 78
This is one of my favorite verses. It gives me great comfort and help. At some point, we have to learn to live with a little ambiguity. Unless we want to live in a constant state of anxiety, doubt, fear, and hopelessness, we have to accept that some things are beyond our knowing.
I’m not talking about willfully ignoring what we can and should know—that’s another issue altogether. I mean the kind of ignorance that isn’t a choice—the kind that comes when God, for His own reasons, withholds certain things from us.
We humans are incredibly capable creatures when it comes to discovery, science, and expanding our knowledge. But... we are not God.
God, for His own reasons—perhaps to remind us that we are not Him and to keep us humble—reserves some knowledge from us. These are what Moses called “the secret things.”
Here’s a little secret about those secret things: If you can accept that God isn’t telling you everything—and that you don’t need to know everything—you can find peace even in the unknown.
This doesn’t mean we can’t ask, or that there’s something wrong with asking. It just means God’s answer might be, “I am not going to tell you. Just trust me.” Maybe that’s exactly the point of these secret things: Will we trust God even when we don’t have all the answers?
But that’s only half the story.
God has revealed things to us. The idea behind “revealed” is that these are things we couldn’t and wouldn’t know unless God told us and showed us. Yes, some things He withholds, but not everything. And what He does reveal, He gives to us—to us and to our children forever. What an incredible gift. His revelation is ours to keep, an inheritance that will never be taken away.
These revealed things serve to guide us into a good and holy life. So be at peace with what you don’t know, and live faithfully in what you do. That’s the path to real peace—no matter what comes your way.
