What I Do Know

“I don’t know.”

This statement is perhaps the most humbling statement as a human being, but perhaps the most accurate and the most certain place of a human.

“I don’t know.”

This statement can be a reaction to a circumstance or a situation.  It can be a reaction to a question.  It can be a reaction to a decision.  It can be a resting place, a state of being in times of uncertainty and trial.

“I don’t know.”

This statement should probably be used more than it is.  In this world of immediate answers and google searches and quick turn around, it has become less acceptable.

“Well, why don’t you know?”

Like “not knowing” is unacceptable or less intelligent or makes you “less than.”

I may not know, and I may not understand a lot of things.  I may not be able to tell you why _____ happened.  I may not be able to tell you why that thing failed.  I may not be able to give the answer you want.  I cannot explain your suffering.  I may not be sure about something so instead of agreeing or giving an answer you want, I might just say, “I don’t know.”

We should not be ashamed in our “I don’t know.”

But… what I DO know makes everything I don’t know melt like ice.

What I know is that God is here.  He is present in the “I don’t know.”  He is here in the uncertainty.  And I DO know He is who He says He is.  I DO know that Jesus was a human, born as a babe just like me.  I DO know that he makes people– makes me alive.  I know that He came to this earth to live– fully God and fully man– to die, and to be resurrected to bring humankind near to Himself so that we also might LIVE.  I DO know that his love and his mercies cover my selfishness and pride when I feel ashamed that “I don’t know.”  What I can hold on to, what I can build a foundation on is not what I know about anything except Christ.

“For I resolve to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:2

I will seek the Lord, and I will seek the Father’s heart in Scripture, but there are many things I don’t know.  The “I don’t know”s keep me searching.  They keep me drawn in to Him.  In all the things I can’t be certain of, He keeps my heart wondering.  There is an endless list of things I will never know.  And I love that.  It actually gives me great comfort through His Spirit.  I know my Father knows, and I know that He has depth of wisdom that I cannot fathom.  That is our Creator!!

There is nothing shameful about not knowing.  It is perhaps the most accurate and certain place a human can be.

It is in that place of “I don’t know”– where things are frustrating and confusing and just plain hard– where Christ is the only hope.  The cross of Christ gives me hope in the mud and mire for as long as I fix my eyes on his truth.  He keeps me taking the next muddy step, no matter how messy or uncertain it might feel.

Whatever your “I don’t know” is today, I pray that you will rest and revel in Jesus Christ the King, our glory.  May we take time to focus less on what we don’t know and more on what we do know.  In Him, we know.  In Him, we live.  In Him, we can find rest for our thirsty and weary souls.