There’s nothing that grinds my gears more than feeling like I can’t comprehend something. It hits directly at my deep-rooted control issues. As long as I can understand something, I feel like I can accept it – or even fix it. But when I can’t wrap my mind around the why behind something? Oof. My thoughts quickly spiral into a dark playground of fear, anxiety, and frustration.

Needless to say, I’ve bumped into this wall many times in my walk with the Lord. We serve a God who is infinitely bigger than us – whose ways are higher, whose thoughts are deeper, and whose actions don’t always come with tidy explanations. The result? Moments that begin with “Why, God?” and often end in what feels like silence, disappointment, or even defeat.

But through painful seasons filled with more questions than answers – and losses that couldn’t be soothed by logic or reason – I reached a turning point. I got tired of fighting what I couldn’t control. Eventually, I stopped demanding clarity and started accepting mystery. And honestly? That surrender, though hard-won, became the most freeing and faithful decision I’ve ever made.

Here’s what I’ve learned: mystery isn’t just something to tolerate – it’s something to embrace. It forms us. It teaches us to trust, to wait, to let go of the illusion of control. It humbles us. And in that space of humility, we begin to encounter God not just as an idea or a theology, but as a real, living presence. We stop trying to figure Him out and start actually knowing Him.

When we embrace the mystery, we also begin to see ourselves more clearly. Our fears, our limitations, our desires for control – they rise to the surface. But so does our capacity for faith, wonder, and surrender.

As Eugene Peterson once wrote in regards to understanding God’s ways, “The only proper human response is not further probing but simply stopping at the threshold of the mystery, kneeling, and offering praise.”

So don’t let the mystery intimidate you. Let it invite you. Let it excite and stretch you. Let it pull you closer to a God who is too vast to be explained, but kind enough to be known. 

So don’t let the mystery intimidate you. Let it invite you. Let it excite and stretch you. Let it pull you closer to a God who is too vast to be explained, but kind enough to be known.