Walking On WaterSample

 Overcoming Rational Limits

Reading the Bible has been important to me throughout my Christian life. I have always delighted in both the beauty of what the Bible reveals and its power to explain our experience of life, so I’ve regularly memorised verses or passages which have spoken to me. One of the first Bible verses that I memorised was Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Most people love those verses because they find comfort in the promise of God's guidance. I've come to see another equally important truth there – namely that the opposite of "trust" is "leaning on your own understanding". Leaning on our own understanding blocks our ability to receive by faith, and makes it harder for God to lead us into new things. In life, often our greatest dangers come when our strengths are pushed too far. A strong analytical mind has helped me in many ways, but I am also aware that, apart from God’s gracious intervention in my life, I would easily be someone who would only believe in what he could explain scientifically. 

The rational mind is a gift from God, but it needs to be disciplined, so that it doesn't become arrogant and believe that everything can be comprehended. The Bible itself warns against that prideful assumption. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). In other words, we can't simply go by what we see (or understand). God exists, and is beyond our understanding. He invites us to seek understanding, because that is an important part of "knowing" and central to a healthy relationship, but cautions us not to imagine that we will ever come to a position where we can comprehend him completely. 

If God exists and interacts, then the supernatural should be expected, at least from time to time. As it says in Hebrews 11:6, "Without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." In other words, the Father wants all of his children not only to believe that he exists but also that his goodness finds tangible expression in our experience and, through us, in the experience of others. We should expect to see what we can’t explain!