There are two different ways to deal with confusion: Give in and give up, or Give in and push on blindly.
These can almost be considered equally bad. Giving up is obviously a foolish move. However, the thought of going into anything blindly also causes uneasiness. Sadly, the former is one of my good friends. When i'm confused i often mentally give up. I find a loophole to the problem. One thing that i've learned about God is that confusion is one of His greatest enemies. For the most part, confusion has been about big decisions, picking the right college, scheduling classes, and simply deciding which way to turn next. Confusion often hangs on you like really heavy clothing. You try to get your mind off of it and accept the fact that it doesn't fit. Yet, the folds still drag the ground, it makes you sweat, and you end up having to hold it up and carry it in order to get through the day without tripping and completely falling on your face.
What about those of us who have confusion about little aspects of God? Or even the large aspects? Let's face it. God is pretty huge. In fact, He is THE biggest thing in all of creation. And you are confused?! SACRILEGE!
It is easy to become confused when building a relationship with God. Satan uses confusion as a tool to block us from the true understanding of the love of our Father in heaven. Satan knows that the more we do not understand it, the more we will turn to things that we DO understand-the world. Not good.
I have never before considered being undressed to be a part of growing in my relationship with God. My first instinct when pursuing holiness is to put on more; to put on more and more armor so that i won't be defeated by the world. Overtime, what we may think is armor may actually be false notions that only feed our confusion.
In C.S. Lewis' Narnian Chronicle, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, young and curious Eustace wanders into a cave filled with treasures of all kinds. One treasure in particular is a bracelet that he puts on and is instantly turned into a dragon. Filled with pain, Eustace doesn't know what to do. What he thought the bracelet would bring him has only turned out to be pain, pain, and more pain. Aslan, the God figure in the Narnian Chronicles, comes to Eustace. After Eustace's numerous attempts to fix the issue himself, Aslan tells him, "You will have to let me UNDRESS you," and it says that "He tears the dragon-skin off Eustace like it's a huge scab." This makes so much sense!
Basically:
We keep trying to talk ourselves into spiritual comfort, picking our wounds of confusion, until we are covered with scabs. God calls to us. He undresses us of all of these scabs. He cleanses us. His word commands us to be transformed by the REnewing of our minds. Flush out the old notions of how you can become a better whatever. God's word tells us all that we need to be. Always look to that, and you will never be confused about such matters again. How wonderful that just the breath of our God can wash away the sap that so often keeps us stuck in one place. Pushing through blindly way be a scary thought, but it is the true test of our faith.
"Come close to God, and God will come close to you." James 4:8
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