Some people interpret “Do not depend on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5) to mean that they shouldn’t even try to understand the scriptures because the wording is too complex. I question that interpretation. Consider the saying “Don’t believe everything you see.” That doesn’t mean that you should blindfold yourself all the time. Your eyes provide plenty of valuable information that makes sense and is believable. You trust your eyes to help you steer your car, avoid stepping in a puddle, read your grandmother’s favorite pie recipe, and so forth. When you watch a magician pull a rabbit from a hat that he just showed you was empty, that’s when you instantly know that you can’t believe your eyes. There’s a trick involved and you know it.

I believe a similar understanding applies to “Lean not on your own understanding.” I think it means that you should understand the many things that make sense in the Bible, but when you come across something that doesn’t make sense, don’t throw up your hands and declare that you can’t understand anything in the Bible. You don’t do that in other life situations. For instance, not many people could explain how each part of their car works, but that doesn’t stop them from driving the car.

Sometimes I understand the scientific explanation of a concept such as how the shape of an airplane wing creates lift when air rushes over it, but I have a hard time believing enough lift could be created to lift a tremendously heavy machine like a 747. I don’t let that stop me from taking a flight from one side of the country to the other. I don’t lean only on what I can understand. I’ve seen that planes do fly, even if it doesn’t seem sensible to me, so I just trust that it works and get on that plane. Later that day I step off the plane on the far side of the country.

Likewise when I read something in the Bible that sounds a bit out of the ordinary, I try to make sense of it, or check with someone more knowledgeable on such things regarding their understanding of it. Sometimes I get a better understanding of wording that wasn’t clear to me at first. Sometimes the words and concepts are clear, but I have a hard time imagining how it could be (rather like the lift caused by air flowing over the shape of an airplane wing). Just as I trust that the plane can fly, I trust that the Lord can do things that I have a hard time imagining. That concept feels right to me. Does it feel right to you? If so, I encourage you to read the Bible. You’ll find that much of it is worded very simply, especially if you read a translation that is written for today (e.g. the New Living Translation). It’s God’s Word recorded for humans to learn about Him, His Ways, and His Plans. Why would He make it too hard for the average person to understand?