The Power of “I Don’t Know”
Are you good at admitting that you don’t know something?
Verse of the Day
‘O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.”’
Today’s Devotional
When I first got married, my husband did something that it took me a few years to figure out. I would ask a question, and he would always have some kind of answer, given with confidence. For years I had no idea that he was making up answers. These were not major issues or questions that I was asking. It would be about little things, like, “I wonder how they make pepper jack cheese.” He always had an answer!
Once I figured out what was going on, it became a major joke in our relationship. My husband is a precious man, but he really hates to admit that he does not know something. Plus, he thought it was way more fun to just make up things (always said with confidence) and see if I would buy it. I almost always did.
Why am I telling you this silly fact about my marriage? Because I believe there is strength in admitting that I don’t know. One of my friends has a saying that speaks to this: “The smartest man in the room is the one who knows what he doesn’t know.”
I’m going to give you some hard truth. You don’t know everything. No human does. Acting like you do know everything is, well, foolish. There is so much power in admitting the truth. My truth is that sometimes I just don’t know. I don’t know what to think. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to say. I just simply don’t know.
In today’s verse, the land of Judah is about to be invaded. They can see, by the size of the invading army and its men, that destruction is on the horizon. Can you imagine the panic of that situation? This is where good leadership can change the game. The king, though he was terrified, ordered that everyone begin fasting and seeking the Lord. That’s good leadership. This king then gathered all the people and prayed, out loud, telling God that he had no idea what to do.
That kind of admission is brave and it is strong. I believe that admitting when we don’t know is what God might be waiting for sometimes. There is no weakness in not knowing. There is foolishness in barrelling ahead when we have no idea what we are doing. In this story from the Bible, once the king admitted that he did not know what to do, The Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men and he gave an answer to the king from God. The answer, in this case, was to simply show up to the battle. God would do the rest. The people of Judah would not even have to fight. They just had to show up.
Maybe I’m reading too much into this one example of “I don’t know” in the Bible. Also, I don’t believe that every time we admit that we don’t know something that God will deliver an answer through the mouth of another person. I do believe, however, that one of the goals of our relationship with the Almighty God is to recognize how much we need him. There is strength in knowing (and admitting) what we don’t know. There is value within our human relationships in admitting that we don’t know. It is a gift to others to admit that you don’t have it all together and that you don’t have everything figured out. It is always a benefit in our personal relationship with God to admit the truth. And the truth, for me, is often that I simply don’t know. But every time I admit that to God, He shows up.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Does it make you feel good to have the answers? Have you ever wondered WHY that makes you feel good?
How can you admit to God today the things you don’t know?
How willing are you to admit when you don’t know to others?
What situation do you need to bring to God today and say, “Lord, I don’t know what to do about this”?
When God shows up, be sure to write it down so it will build your faith.
How can you simply show up today?