On Being All-Knowing

Have you ever thought about what you would have to know in order to know everything?
This is something that has occupied my thoughts in countless quiet times. When I'm in the shower, when I'm falling asleep, when I'm driving by myself, when I'm doing my hair - you name a circumstance, and I've probably been thinking about this in that situation.

You would have to know every person. Their name. Everything they did, said, wore, ate. Everywhere they went. Everyone they knew. Every thought they ever had. Literally everything about every person who has ever lived or is currently living.

You would have to read every book, journal, magazine, poster, advertisement, essay, letter, email, Facebook post, Twitter post. See every movie, music video. Know every musical piece ever written. Know when it was written, who wrote it, know of every instance it has ever been performed. Know every musical artist, the names of their albums, how much they each sold. Know how many pages every book has. Know what books are in every library, what articles are on every website, Have read every article ever published in a newspaper. Know exactly the process every writer went through for each thing they've ever written - the typos, the mistakes, the things they re-wrote and re-worded. Know what was cut from every movie and every video.

You would have to know every country, every city, every town, every village, every building, every government, every neighborhood, every store, every house, the layout of them all. Know how long it took to construct every building. Know where every object in the entire universe is at this very moment. Know exactly how it got there, how it was made before that, and where it will be next. Know every street, stoplight, speed limit, freeway entrance, dead end, school zone.

You would have to know the exact name and history of every plant and animal. Know where they are at this exact moment, know everything about their way of life, know everything they've ever done. Know what will become of them in the end.

I could go on. In fact, it's not even possible to list all the things you would have to know in order to be all-knowing. Things to know are happening faster than they can be listed.

When we talk about God, we often lightly mention that He is all-knowing. Or that He "is aware of us." Or that He "knows our needs." We could all take a moment to appreciate how truly amazing that is. It's not even possible for us to think of everything that we would have to know in order to know everything, yet He is all-knowing. We tend to accept this easily, but do we understand what this means for us?

 I think we could all afford to trust Him a little bit more.
We can't know everything right how, and we don't really need to. That's why it's so amazing that we can pray to a Heavenly Father who does know everything, who can specifically tell us what we do need to know.