It’s a Mystery!
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9 NKJV)
Who doesn’t love a great mystery?
As a young reader, I devoured the Nancy Drew book series (I still have all the yellow-bound copies)…couldn’t get enough of the titian-haired detective’s adventures. Although Nancy was supposed to be a brilliant sleuth, she somehow always wound up in life-threatening pickles.
I graduated to reading the complete Sherlock Holmes during a middle-school summer. Gothic novels, Alfred Hitchcock, Agatha Christie, C.S. Lewis, and other suspense books swiftly followed, and I relished the twists and turns in the plotlines. These days, cozy mysteries are closer to my speed, and I’m tinkering around with writing another historic suspense novel. Mysteries are so much fun!
While these fiction books fall in the category of entertainment, our Christian textbook—the Holy Bible—is nonfiction sometimes couched in the framework of poetry/prose. Most of the stories, commandments, attributes of God, and other elements are quite direct. For example, there’s no question about the meaning of the verse that declares “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NKJV).
And yet, there’s a touch of mystery around the edges of Scripture. You can’t dive into the spiritual realm without getting in over your head at some point. We can’t understand everything in the Bible simply because we’re not God.
Case in point is Revelation. The most cryptic book in the Bible, John’s Revelation has sparked controversy for almost two millennia as scholars have tried to interpret the symbolism. We’ll never solve its puzzles until all the prophesied events come to pass.
But as Corrie Ten Boom once said, “Don’t worry about what you do not understand…Worry about what you do understand in the Bible, but do not live by.”
How do we make sense of the difficult passages in Scripture? The simple answer is to pick it up and start reading. There are lots of great read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year guides out there.* Even if it takes you longer than a year, get started.
What you’ll find is that the Bible confirms itself over and over. The Old Testament is a preview of the New Testament, both meshed together as a seamless combination of the Gospel message. God’s word is sharper than a two-edged sword, and every page is filled with new insights for understanding His words.
You’ll also find there are fewer conflicts than you’d think. When you compare verses against the bulk of the Bible, God’s Holy Spirit corroborates His truths to expand your spiritual wisdom.
Perhaps the greatest mystery in God’s word, however, is this: why would the Creator and Master of the universe love us enough to endure death, to save us from our wickedness, and to claim us as His own for heaven?
Even the apostle Paul considered this a profound conundrum. He described the incomprehensible incarnation of God in Jesus Christ this way: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh,justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16 NKJV)
Friend, this may be a great mystery, but it’s also a truth we can treasure. The entire Bible, starting in Genesis, is the story of God’s redemption of His people. Everything points to His sovereign plan to rescue us from our sin.
If your Bible is getting a bit dusty, pull it back out and clean off the cobwebs. Read through it with fresh eyes, looking for clues about the promised Messiah and His offer of eternal life. In the margins, scribble your prayers and questions along with God’s promises, commandments, attributes, and miracles as He opens your eyes to them.2
I encourage you to study your Bible as your handbook to grow in your faith. As you turn the pages, you’ll learn so much about God that you’ll yearn to know Him better. Pray over His words with a greater trust in His purposes.
Dig deep to explore His mysteries—and grab your super-sleuth magnifying glass if you need it!
Holy Spirit, thank You for preserving Your word to be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Thank You for making it readily available on the internet and around the world. Please spread Your light to countries where Bibles are restricted. As I read through Your word, open my eyes to apply Your truth to my life—to worship You, follow Your commandments, love others as You do, and share Your Gospel good news about Jesus Christ. In His name I pray, Amen.
Nancy C. Williams is a Christian wife/mom with a writing career spanning more than 40 years in business and journalism. Williams is the author of the novel To Love a Falcon and the devotional book A Crocus in the Desert: Devotions, Stories, and Prayers for Women Experiencing Infertility. Her blogs are featured on Crossmap.com and AriseDaily. To follow Nancy’s posts and news, go to her home page at NancyCWilliams.com and subscribe at the bottom.
© Copyright 2025 Nancy C. Williams (text and photography). Unless otherwise noted, Scripture verses are taken from the New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. #mystery #nancydrew #sherlockholmes #agathachristie #novels #Scripture #Bible #Biblestudy #readthroughtheBible #corrietenboom
1You’ll find lots of great reading plans on the internet—here are a few on Bible Gateway: https://www.biblegateway.com/reading-plans/
2Read here about fun ways to highlight Scripture verses: https://nancycwilliams.com/2024/04/04/the-privileged-life-make-your-bible-study-colorful/
