Raising my 2 young boys requires a lot of love…time…grace…sacrifice…self-control…and patience! Hmmm….Did I mention patience?!

Just recently my 4 year old Bryce asked me a question and I really didn’t have an answer to satisfy him or his little inquisitive mind!

Bryce: “Mommy, are we going to eat food and drink water in heaven?”

Me: “Good question sweetie…I am really not sure.”

Bryce: “Well, how are we going to live if we don’t eat food and drink water in heaven?”

Me: “Ugh…well we will live forever in heaven whether or not we eat or drink.”

Bryce: “How?”

Me: “Just trust me…we will live forever in heaven whether or not we eat or drink!”

Bryce: “But how?”

Clearly my answers did not satisfy Bryce’s desire for understanding eternal life in heaven. He just had to figure it out!

I guess you can’t blame him…right? I mean I could go into well our “spirit” goes to heaven, etc. but come on…I’m talking to a 4 year old! And even then I would have probably dodged the question.

Bryce really wanted to figure this out…and unfortunately his limited mind did not have the ability to grasp an understanding of God and how we can live forever without food or water in heaven!

And this paints a small picture into our lives as well when we too don’t understand God and try to figure Him out. Interestingly, the Bible actually tells us to not try and figure Him out…

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Proverbs 3:5-6 MSG

Another Bible version states…

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5-6

Many times as Christians we say we trust God and believe God for something by faith…yet we still try to figure out how or when He is going to do it.

The Hebrew word for “trust” in this text of scripture is batach meaning “to trust, be confident or sure, be bold (confident, secure, sure), put confidence, (make to) hope.” So when we say that we trust God…we are saying that He is reliable and we place our faith in His reliability.

The Webster’s Dictionary defines “figure out” as “to solve.” The word “figure” can mean to compute, reason, guess.

The very definitions of these words tells us that we cannot trust God and rely on Him if we are trying to compute…reason…solve what we are trusting Him for.

How about your life right now? Are you trusting God…or trying to figure Him out?

When we try to figure out in our minds how or when God is going to do something…then we are not fully trusting Him. God never said that faith requires us to figure things out…rather faith requires us to rely on Him and  the truth and integrity of God’s Word.

In order for us…as Christians…to walk in greater levels of faith…it is so important that we don’t try to figure out…calculate…reason…solve how God is going to heal, provide, restore, deliver, or meet our needs. He wants us to trust Him fully…completely…110%!

Now just to clarify…that doesn’t mean that we aren’t to seek Godly wisdom or take action or steps towards the needs we are praying for. For example seeking medical advice…finding a new job…seeing a Christian marriage counselor, etc. are all steps we should take while we believe God to meet our needs. These actions accompany our faith and the Bible clearly states that faith…if it is not accompanied by action…is dead.

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:17 NIV

 So with all that being said… Why do we try to figure God out?

Our Need for a Backup Plan

Is trying to figure things out…just in case God doesn’t come through…a backup plan for us? Do you have a backup plan?

Anytime we have a backup plan for God…we aren’t believing and trusting Him and we will try to do things on our own and in our own time.

It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. Psalm 118:8 KJV

I always say amusingly… “Don’t play Hamburger Helper with God…He doesn’t need your help!”

Our Fear/Impatience

Is trying to figure things out caused by fear or impatience?

Fear oftentimes causes us to try to figure things out. It is the doorway that the enemy uses to access our minds as Christians causing us to be overwhelmed with failure and defeat. Satan’s purpose is to get us to trust and believe in ourselves, our abilities, or other things…instead of God and His Word.

We end up trying to figure out… compute…reason…solve things…and forget our greatest resource is the reliability and integrity of God’s Word. Fear causes us to move in the flesh which is directed by our minds while faith and trust causes us to yield to God’s spirit…which consequently causes us to move and act by God’s direction and in His time.

Our Limited View of God’s Power

Is trying to figure things out caused by a limited view of God’s power and who God is?

Whenever we try to figure out naturally what God does supernaturally…we begin to doubt because our natural minds can’t comprehend spiritual possibilities. Faith in God is much bigger and greater than in man’s natural ability.

And furthermore we may tend to try to figure Him out before we believe Him. If we figured Him out first…we wouldn’t need faith, right? That is not having faith in God.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for¹ and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 NIV

We must believe God first …and not require Him to prove that He can do it.

When we try to figure God out…whether it’s our need to have a backup plan…whether it’s out of our fear or impatience…or whether it’s our limited view of God and Who He is…we allow all our thinking to crowd out our faith in Him.

Trusting in God is not thinking how or when it’s going to get done…rather it is reliance on Him and His Word.

Where are you at today? Are you trying to figure God out?

Stop trying to figure God out…Our limited minds were not created to figure out His unlimited mind! Trust Him today and rely on the truth and reliability of His Word.

Reflection Points:

1. Are you trusting God…or trying to figure Him out?
2. Why is it that we try to figure God out?
3. Is trying to figure things out…just in case God doesn’t come through…a backup plan for us? Do you have a backup plan?
4. Is trying to figure things out caused by fear or impatience?
5. Is trying to figure things out caused by a limited view of God’s power and who God is?

Action Points:

1. When we try to figure out in our minds how or when God is going to do something…then we are not fully trusting Him. God never said that faith requires us to figure things out…rather faith requires us to rely on the truth and integrity of God’s Word. It is important that we are reading and studying God’s Word. This is the key to having a mind like God!
2. We try to figure God out…just in case He doesn’t come through for us…out of our own fear and impatience…and as a result of having a limited view of God and Who He is.
3. Anytime we have a backup plan for God…we aren’t believing and trusting Him and we will try to do things on our own and in our own time. God doesn’t have backup plans. We need to stop playing Hamburger Helper with God…He doesn’t need our help!
4. Satan will use fear to get us to trust and believe in ourselves, our abilities, or other things…instead of God and His Word. We need to recognize when fear comes in because God never gives us a spirit of fear. (2 Timothy 1:7)
5. Whenever we try to figure out naturally what God does supernaturally…we begin to doubt because our natural minds can’t comprehend spiritual possibilities. Faith in God is much bigger and greater than in man’s natural ability.