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“We are on the brink of an adventure children! Don’t spoil it with too many questions!” Mary Poppins 

Watching Mary Poppins Returns yesterday with my grandchildren and this quote really struck me! I’m one to ask questions. Sometimes too many. I want to know. I want to know why, and how, and what, and who, and for how long ….. the list goes on. As a kid, if I asked too many questions at our dinner table or while watching a show, my dad would notoriously look at me and say, “What? Are you writing a book?” I would laugh, wait a few minutes, and then ask a few more questions in hope of some answers. I am sure this is why I thought I’d make a great detective when I grew up … although I became a teacher instead, and then was bombarded with a million questions by students, myself. 

I love questions. I think questions are good. Wanting to know and being curious is a great tool for learning. It usually means the mind is working, the imagination is imagining, the wonder is wondering, and the learner is interested in learning. I am pretty sure it all starts at around age 2-3, as my grandchildren have reminded me. Two of our grandsons are around the same age and when they hit that 2 and half mark, they both began asking the “Toddler WHY”. At first it was fun and cute, and then it became annoying. As they discovered their new profound power of questioning everything and everyone, they began to use it to put off having to get dressed, eat their dinner, brush their teeth, put away their toys, go to bed and anything that required them having to do something that they didn’t really want to do. This not only meant it took longer to get things done, created difficulties at the dinner table and bath time, brought on tears of frustration (for both the child and the parent) and produced a headache for their parents as they tried to satisfy their bright toddler, but it also caused the toddler to miss out on some really fun adventures and blessings. These “whys” also caused delayed responses of obedience that had the potential for some extremely dangerous outcomes. Ultimately we all had to help them learn the delicate balance of when it was appropriate for them to be curious and ask the questions, and when they just needed to trust whoever was telling them something and obey. 

As adults we aren’t far off from this toddler scenario. There are plenty of times we are found asking too many questions, asking the wrong questions, and even occasions when we should not be asking any questions at all. We can easily fall into the trap of ’needing to know’, that actually reveals more of a ‘needing to control’ issue instead. Just like my little grandsons, we have this inner need to know. We are born with the ability to think and learn and grow. We study in order to become wiser and discover things and get smarter. We have been trained to think that knowledge represents power. A profound power that gives us a sense of control, being in charge, knowing all of the pros and cons, possibilities and potentials, information and insight, that helps us feel ready, better prepared, equipped for whatever lies ahead. While this is true and there is wisdom in knowledge, in gathering information, asking questions, there is a very delicate balance. Too many questions, and even questioning someone or something at all, can also be extremely dangerous, debilitating, deceptive and even disappointing. It can paralyze us. It can prevent us from moving forward. It can put us in a place of disobedience. It can hold us back from some great adventures! Especially the ones God has planned for us.

While God is not afraid of your questions, and certainly does not mind you asking them, I have discovered that He doesn’t always answer them, not in the timing we want Him to, not the way we want Him to, and some times not at all. There have been many times God has answered my questions, but because I have already decided on what the answer should look like, I miss His answer. I have also found myself waiting and waiting for that answer to come before I do something, paralyzed with fear, afraid to take a risk, to move forward, and before I know it, that “something” has passed me by. Raise your hand if that has ever been you! The problem is not in our wondering, our curiosity or in our wanting to know or understand things. God created us with all of these as beautiful gifts. The problem is found in the MOTIVE BEHIND our wanting to know, and in the lack of MOVEMENT BEFORE we do know. Maybe some of the questions should be directed to ourselves first. Am I asking these questions and needing to know in order to have everything figured out? So I feel in control? To stoke my own pride, feed my sense of entitlement? Do I need to know all of these answers before I can move forward, step out, take a risk, try something new? Can I only ’trust’ God if He shows me the whole picture and answers all of my questions? Am I spoiling the adventure He has for me because of fear, lack of trust and needing ‘to know’?

In today’s society we have access to a whole lot of knowledge. It provokes us to ask questions. Answers are right at our fingertips. If we have questions, we can always google it, research it, find it. We want to know. We need to know. So we click. Click a few links and we feel like we know just about everything there is to know, about anything! Yet this kind of knowledge will not sustain us. It does not always provide the wisdom, hope, truth and answers we need. Often it can produce more questions and even bring more harm than good. This kind is fleeting and often changes as fast as the latest diet or healthy eating fad. BUT …. There is a knowledge that is lasting. A knowledge that sustains our whole being and gives us life. That feeds our faith and leads our future . The kind that will uphold us, lead us, direct us, give us hope, and carry us on some of our greatest discoveries of life and love. This is the KNOWLEDGE of GOD. KNOWING HIM. The knowledge of who God is, and who He is in us. We are encouraged in scripture to desire knowledge … not the kind of scholars found in research and books, but the knowledge of God. “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the KNOWLEDGE OF GOD more than burnt offerings.” Hosea 6:6 We are told that understanding and wisdom is first found in knowing Christ. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY ONE is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10 And Paul, a disciple of Christ, prayed over and over for the Church (the people of God, not an organization or building) that they would be given the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God.  “…that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the KNOWLEDGE OF GOD; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and long-suffering with joy.” Colossians 1:9-11

As we become more and more familiar with God and who He is … that He is FOR us. He is faithful. He is true. He is a good Shepherd. A good Father. He is trustworthy and HIs ways are higher than ours. Then our faith and trust in Him will increase more and more. We will grow out of the toddler stage and although we can ask the questions, we will be satisfied if we don’t get the answers. We will ask less “whys” and say more “yeses”. We will not be held back, paralyzed or hindered by fear or lack of answers, but will walk with prompt obedience, trusting Him with our steps, encouraged that His plans and purposes for us truly are good, to bring us peace, a future, and hope. As we grow in the knowledge of Him, we will relinquish control, trust in Him with our whole hearts, leaning NOT on our own understanding, step out of the boat, and not spoil the adventure with too many questions!