The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?
Proverbs 20:24 NLT
I’m studying the book of Proverbs but approaching it a little differently. I’ve decided to spend as much time as I need to discover all the wisdom it contains. After all, the purpose of the book is to teach people wisdom, discipline, and how to live disciplined and successful lives. And help them “…understand the insights of the wise” and to do “…what is right, just and fair (Proverbs 1:2-3)”.
Who wouldn’t want to learn all that? I certainly do, that’s why I’m taking my time studying the book of Proverbs.
Interestingly, I keep finding new gems and learning something different each time I read, even though I’ve been reading it for over two months now. Today it was Proverbs 20:24.
“The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?”
Why try to understand?
I got hung up on the why try to understand everything part of the verse. Mainly because I’m always searching for the WHY.
Why is this happening?
Why didn’t it happen?
Why hasn’t God answered my prayers?, etc
The WHY is important to me.
But as I thought about it some more, I realized it’s my way of staying focused and grounded when my plans don’t work out or the unexpected happens. Having a WHY helps me persevere. It gives me a sense of peace. That’s why I was a bit confused by this verse. To me, knowing WHY is always better than not knowing.
What it really means
But as I studied it more, I realized it’s actually about finding peace in something other than circumstances. Because there will be times when we will NOT have a WHY, no matter how diligently we search for it. When that happens, what’s going to be our motivation?
What will push us forward? Because not knowing WHY is so hard to live with. In fact, many people have walked away from God because they couldn’t find an answer to WHY.
That’s why Proverbs 20:24 is a simple reminder that we won’t always have a WHY. It reminds us to embrace our limits while at the same time recognizing the vastness of God’s. Because sometimes the reason we don’t know WHY may be because it’s beyond our capacity to understand at the present moment. Kind of like explaining the principles of gravity to a toddler: they just don’t know enough to grasp those concepts at that age. Likewise, we might not be ready or able to understand the WHY just yet.
In addition, Proverbs 20:24 is also about trusting God’s plan for us. It’s believing He’s working to make us the best versions of ourselves. And everything that happens in our life, good or bad, is working towards that goal, even if it makes no sense to us.
What I’m learning
Proverbs 20:24 is about finding comfort in the fact God’s in control of our lives. Peace and contentment come from Him and not from understanding the WHY. And if we’re trying to find peace by understanding the WHY, we’re looking for it in the wrong place. There will always be things in our life we will never have an answer for. This means we’re going to have to trust that God has His reasons. It’s this trust that should motivate and push us through the times we don’t have a WHY.