You Don't Know What You Don't Know

Have you ever wondered why you haven’t been promoted or why your ministry hasn’t materialized yet? Or maybe there’s another dream in your heart that has yet to manifest. Many times it’s because we are simply not ready for it. The funny thing is that at the time we may not realize that we’re not ready.

And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit. II Corinthians 3:18 (Amplfied Bible, AMP)

As Christians, our lives are a work in progress. As we pursue God, He grows and develops us- just like a baby grows and develops over the years and eventually becomes a full-grown adult. It’s a process. When a child is six years old, he may think he has the skill and ability to drive a car, but any adult knows he doesn’t. And that child will not realize that fact until later when he is grown.

The same could be said for us. We often think we are ready for something to come to pass in our lives. However, in reality, it would destroy us if we got it because we haven’t developed enough to handle it. For example, so many people have entered the ministry prematurely only to burn out, become involved in a scandal, or become hurt and offended by the people they set out to minister to.

Many times a delay in getting what we want is because God is protecting us. And failing to recognize that fact is proof of our immaturity and our need to grow. Because we are on a journey to become more and more like God, we may not know our need to develop until later- after the fact. The simple truth is that we don’t know what we don’t know.

This is where trusting God comes in. He knows what we can handle. He knows the areas in which we need to grow. He is working on us and with us to bring us to the place where we can receive what He has for us without it being harmful to us or others. His ways and timing are pefect- and we need to rely on His wisdom and rest patiently in Him while we wait and grow.

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6 (New Living Translation, NLT)