Hey friend! I'm Liz
“For your presence is everywhere bringing light into my night!”
Deuteronomy 29:29 (MSG):
“God will take care of the hidden things but the revealed things are our business.”
Acts 1:7 (NIV):
“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.””
John 21:21-22 (NIV):
“If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”
All (above) verses I’ve seen used to discourage us from being curious.
Because, (sarcasm alert), curiosity invites temptation, and it could lead us right to the precipice of that big, yellow, slippery slope of heresy/moral decay/sin.
In some faith circles, there’s a sense that if you give curiosity an inch, it will take a mile. You can’t trust it, or yourself, to lead you to good and holy places.
But what people, who are afraid of the slippery slope, don’t know about it, is that it can lead to redemption, transformation, and new and healing discoveries.
“To be curious is to participate in faith by grace.”
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In her book, Out of Sorts, Sarah Bessey said:
“We are afraid of our questions, afraid of finding new answers, afraid of a new way of thinking about or living with or relating to God. What if it changes us? What if we go the wrong way? What if we find our way to the fabled slippery slope and tumble head long into the fall? What if what if what if?…
And yet there is something exhilarating about a slippery slope. And there is usually rest waiting at the bottom. There is something wondrous about flinging open the door to the thing that scares you and saying, Bring it on. Let’s hop onto this toboggan and ride all the way to the bottom; let’s see what we find.”
Curiosity has no moral value. It is what it is. It’s the desire to learn, to be inquisitive, to be intrigued by strange and unusual things. To be curious is to seek and question and look until you find something. And usually finding ‘that something' at the end of your curiosity, sets you out on another journey.
It was curiosity that caused Moses to stop and pay attention to the burning bush. (Ex 3:2-3).
The writer of Proverbs tells us that “to search out a matter is the glory of Kings.” (Prov 25:2).
Wasn’t it that sense of holy curiosity that caused all the disciples to drop what they were doing and follow Christ?
We’re afraid of curiosity because we believe that at the very foundation of who we are, evil is at the bedrock.
But Christ is bedrock under our feet. (2 Sam 22:2).
Eternity, the essence of God himself, has been set into the heart of every human being that ever has been, is and will be. (Ecc 3:11).
When God created us, he said we were GOOD.
Your natural inclination for wonder and inquiry is not a threat to God. To be curious is to participate in faith by grace. If you’re scared that you’ll go too far, remember this:
“Where could I go from your Spirit? Where could I run and hide from your face? If I go up to heaven, you’re there! If I go down to the realm of the dead, you’re there too! If I fly with wings into the shining dawn, you’re there! If I fly into the radiant sunset, you’re there waiting! Wherever I go, your hand will guide me; your strength will empower me. It’s impossible to disappear from you or to ask the darkness to hide me; for your presence is everywhere bringing light into my night!” (Ps 139:7-11 TPT).
Your curiosity will go where you lead it. So sure, if you take it down dark and hurtful places, you won’t find joy at that bottom. And yet, miraculously, grace will be there waiting.
How do you know where the slippery slope will lead? Well, sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and find out when you get there.
Written by Liz Milani
Oh wow! Thank you for your illumination on curiosity, and how you have so beautifully crafted it. I think curiosity is the thing that links us to God, that begs us to ask, to wonder, to seek. Is that why God says to have childlike, trusting faith? God knows the heart of his creation, good and bad, but still he calls, woos, desires, and wants each person to come, to ask questions, be curious. You are so right – he is there at the start of that journey and the completion. I think this must delight God, because it allows him the opportunity to reveal himself, and show his absolute love for his children.
I am totally with you on that Danielle!! Thank you for the encouragement and kind words. So glad you enjoyed the series. Happy being curious!! Liz xo.