Right now, you are walking in the tension of mystery but with meaning.  Some days, you will feel the ‘mystery’ more than meaning.  But God does not just leave us wondering about every ‘mystery’ and wandering through every ‘gap.’ He gives mercy for every mystery and grace for every gap.  His Word tells us exactly where these ‘gaps’ are, why they are there, and how we can navigate them—yet, without revealing every detail, especially as it relates to our life. 

‘Mystery’ is one of those words that sounds a lot like ‘misery’—and for most of us, it often feels that way. 

Not knowing terrifies us.

…what if…?

…why wouldn’t…?

…if only…?

…how come…?

It’s a spiritual climate of cold uncertainty and deep unsettledness—and navigating through it feels like moving through a dense fog on a chilly night. There’s only so far we can see, so much we can understand, and so little we can anticipate. 

So, what do we do? 

Instinctively, a ‘spiritual reflex’ often kicks in and takes over—before we even know it. Just like a physical reflex would respond in high-alert with a surge of adrenaline, our souls respond reflexively to a high-stakes moments with a surge of anxiety. 

Cortisol in the muscles is like control to the soul.

Serotonin in the brain is like certainty to the mind.

In the place of the ‘unknown’—as soon as we’re confronted with deep, unnerving mystery—we start reaching just as frantically for settled certainty. 

Frenziedly, we start calculating the ‘fog’—framing it, analyzing it, speculating it, investigating it. Fretfully, we start naming the ‘darkness’—explaining it, polling it, judging it, denying it. 

Why? It’s all an effort to make the ‘fog’ feel controllable, the ‘darkness’ seem seeable, and the unknown appear ‘knowable.’

It’s an anxious, spiritual reflex to replace mystery with certainty. 

In our minds, the logic seems simple: 

• If mystery is the problem, then certainty must be the solution. 
• If mystery produces anxiety of heart, then certainty promises peace of mind. 
• If mystery threatens our expectations and slows our pace through life, then certainty syncs up our timelines and speeds up our progress.

In other words, mystery feels like a ‘gap’ we are trying to close—like a spiritual mortgage where certainty is its equity.

Just as every homeowner longs to ‘close the gap’ between debt and freedom by building equity, we strive to ‘close the gap’ of mystery by gaining certainty. And the sooner we can ‘close the gap,’ the less ‘interest’ of anxiety there is to pay—and the more freedom and peace there is to experience.

However, under this framework, a dangerous lie sets in: Certainty becomes the salvation to the problem of mystery—and our misery. 

Certainty quietly promises… everything:

…to satisfy the unknown,

…to fill in the ‘gaps,’

…to quiet our fears,

…to give us assurance,

…to settle us with peace.

But does it? 

Or does it—like cortisol—just give us the feeling of control? Or does it—like serotonin—just give us the illusion of peace? 

If we’re honest, certainty doesn’t eliminate anxiety. It just short-circuits it. Until it surges again, often even stronger. 

The problem isn’t that we lack certainty—it’s that we were never meant to live on it.

The reality is that we live in a tension: in mystery but with meaning. 

In one sense, God made us in His own image—as meaningful beings, who enjoy meaning, live in meaning, and understand meaning. Meaning to our souls is like nerves to our bodies—it’s how we make sense of life. 

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