Do you need to know, right NOW?
I call this the Need-To-Know-Syndrome. When a solution to a problem is not obvious or knowing the answer is not immediate, we become impatient and anxious. This causes us to make poor decisions or creates unnecessary worry and stress.
An obsessive need to know is a form of control. Control is rooted in fear. We fear the unknown, we fear pain, and we fear rejection. Fear can look like being overly controlling in relationships with others, at work, or in our daily life and thinking patterns.
We want to control during moments of uncertainty when we are feeling unsafe, vulnerable, anxious, and insecure. We control through toxic overthinking by ruminating, rationalizing, and reasoning.
The Tree of Knowledge: Can You Relate to Eve?
The need to know is an age-old problem. In the book of Genesis, we read that God instructed Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Eve’s conversation with the serpent led her to begin to contemplate “you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5).
Eve began to doubt God’s goodness and believed the lie that God was withholding something good from her (knowledge). Eve then saw that the tree was able to make her wise. Our knowledge in and of itself, apart from God, does not produce life (The Tree of Life). Adam and Eve made knowledge their god from that day forward, and they became self-conscious and ashamed.
The enemy’s tactics to tempt us and engage us in conversations that are based in a lie are still present today, just as our desire for knowledge apart from our Creator is still a temptation. When we try to become like God in our knowledge, we open ourselves up for God’s Word to be twisted, and we believe lies instead of the truth.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes (Prov. 3:5-7).
Many times we trust God only when we understand what he is doing, but whatever God is doing, it does not need to make sense to us for it to make sense to God. We do not need to understand why God does or does not do certain things.
We say, “I don’t understand why this happening, God.” Whatever is happening does not need our understanding. It exists whether we understand it or not.
Understanding is not a requirement for faith. Jesus says, “You don’t understand yet the meaning of what I’m doing, but soon it will be clear to you.” (John 13:7). If we understood everything perfectly, we would not need to rely on God. We would rely on ourselves and our knowledge.
The truth is…
No matter how ready you are – parts of your story, your healing, and your answer will remain hidden until it’s time for you to know them.
“Things are hidden temporarily only as a means to revelation” (Mark 4:22).
I continue to learn and apply these principles in my life and decided to share them in order to help you find a peace that passes understanding in moments of uncertainty.
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