We've all heard about or experienced the toddler who asks the unending list of questions. "Why does the faucet leak?" "How do cows go 'moo'?" "When is the sky blue?" "Why do we need to eat?" All of these are reasonable questions, more or less, but after a while they begin to get on our last nerves. We know there's nothing truly wrong with them (even if some are a bit silly) but we can't stand to answer another, sometimes because we don't ourselves know, or care. So we tell the inquisitive youngster to stop asking questions, or we begin to say the generic "I don't know" to answer them.
So why is this important? Because the fact is that adults are basically children with more years in their age, and we continue to do things now that we did however many years ago it was that we were kids, except in a different style. If you were that questioning little child aforementioned, you probably took the hint and decided you had better not ask any more questions. But then you began to not ask important questions, such as where the bathroom was or what the phone number was for your daddy's work. Your parents then wondered why you became so, well, quiet.
The same thing happens to us today, with only a few differences. Firstly, the questions we want to ask are completely different, and more important (usually). Second, we don't want to ask our parents, we want to ask God. Third, we feel afraid of doing so even though God did not ask us to be quiet, or tell us He didn't know.
Allow me to explain. I'll use an imaginary example. Meet Joe, the average guy.
So why is this important? Because the fact is that adults are basically children with more years in their age, and we continue to do things now that we did however many years ago it was that we were kids, except in a different style. If you were that questioning little child aforementioned, you probably took the hint and decided you had better not ask any more questions. But then you began to not ask important questions, such as where the bathroom was or what the phone number was for your daddy's work. Your parents then wondered why you became so, well, quiet.
The same thing happens to us today, with only a few differences. Firstly, the questions we want to ask are completely different, and more important (usually). Second, we don't want to ask our parents, we want to ask God. Third, we feel afraid of doing so even though God did not ask us to be quiet, or tell us He didn't know.
Allow me to explain. I'll use an imaginary example. Meet Joe, the average guy.
Joe is just an ordinary guy who lives his life. He's a nice guy, and tries to be kind to everyone he meets, even those people with abrasive personalities. But Joe has recently undergone a tragedy. As if his circumstance wasn't hard enough, his friends are giving him "advice", you know, the sort that is well meant but hurts worse than if they had just slapped him. Among that advice is the phrase, "Don't question it too much, since it must be in the will of God". So now Joe has a bigger problem. He wonders why he's going through what he's going through, but he doesn't feel like he can ask God about it, or worse, even tell God how he feels. So Joe gets frustrated at not being able to ask what's going on, and he is further irked because he thinks he has to put on an "I'm okay and everyone else is too" act. This is ironic, since God can see right through that.
Many of us are like Joe. We wonder why something is the way it is, but we don't think we ought to ask. We assume that we must have "passive faith". What is "passive faith"? Well, "passive faith" is a "faith" where we take whatever comes without asking questions, regardless of whether it's good or not. Passive faith accepts circumstances regardless of whatever, since "it must be God's will for me. (boo-hoo)" The problem with that is that passive faith is inactive, and you can't accomplish a whole lot when you're inactive. If we allow passive faith to cripple us simply because we don't think we should ask questions, we aren't doing God or ourselves a favor. Instead, we're saddening Him by wasting time and resources, and by not confiding in Him when He explicitly says to draw near to Him. (James 4:8) We're hurting ourselves by allowing bitterness and spiritual stagnation to take over when we should be seeking God.
With Joe in mind, let's look at another man. Allow me to introduce you to David.
David was the second king of Israel. That's a job that usually comes with a fair share of benefits. David probably had it easy, right? Wrong. He had more than his fair share of headaches. Before becoming king, David was chased around by a paranoid king who was trying to kill him before he (rightfully) took his place on the throne. Then one of his sons named Amnon was killed by another one of his sons named Absalom as revenge for a highly offensive act Amnon had committed against his half-sister. Then Absalom led a rebellion and tried to overthrow his dad as king. Then near the end of his years, another son named Adonijah tried to seize the throne from the son he had left it to, Solomon, before Solomon could take his rightful place. David didn't have an easy life. He spent tons of time running from people trying to kill him. He lost some of his children before he died. And that wasn't all. So what did he do? Did he say, "Oh well. I guess it's all in God's will so I'll just take it like a rubber chicken and keep my questions to myself?" No! In fact David asked God questions about his troubles often, and they were the kinds of questions that I think some of us would be uncomfortable asking. Take a look at Psalm 13.
Psalm 13
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
"How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and hear me, O Lord my God;
Enlighten my eyes,
Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Lest my enemy say,
“I have prevailed against him”;
Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
But I have trusted in Your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me."
Whoa. Did David really just ask God if he would forget Him forever? That had to have been rhetorical. How could anyone ask God about forgetting Him? God doesn't forget anyone! But David talks to God from the perspective of where He is, and basically asks God "How long do I have to deal with this? It stinks!" But what's interesting is that he doesn't stop there. He says:
"But I have trusted in Your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me."
He starts the Psalm with a number of questions. He tells God how sick he is of his circumstances, but he ends on a note of hope and praise. "God, how long is this going to go on? Get me out of here! Don't let my enemy say 'I've got him beat". Yet I have trusted you, and I will rejoice in your salvation and praise you because you've dealt with me bountifully." Do you see this? David asks questions. He doesn't put on a mask, he doesn't shy away from the issue, he's out there, telling God what's on his mind. He isn't disrespectful, just emotional, and he remembers to glorify God at the end.
I think we could learn from David. Check out what the book of Acts says about him in Chapter 13, verses 21-22. "Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’" (NIV 1984, emphasis added) David is literally the only man in the Bible with this description. Abraham wasn't called that, Joseph wasn't called that, the apostle Peter wasn't even called that. Only David was called "a man after God's own heart". Don't you think his is an example we could follow? He wasn't afraid to ask questions of God. Why should we be?
He wasn't the only man in the Bible who did either. Others who asked God questions were: Job (yes I spelled that right, and it's pronounced with a long o, not a short one), Moses (who asked God what to do with a nation who complained way too much), even Jesus! (While on the cross, "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (NIV 1984)”
So there's nothing wrong with asking "why?", or "how?", or "what for?", or any other question of God. Just keep in mind that in spite of whatever you're going through, God loves you and is looking out for you. He wants what's best for you, and yes, He is in control of every situation, including yours, no matter what it is. That's just all the more reason to ask Him about your circumstances. Trust me, it's a lot better than sitting and stewing, and the answer to your question may come sooner than you expect. Just be patient.
Isaiah 40:31
"But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;They shall mount up with wings like eagles,They shall run and not be weary,They shall walk and not faint." (NKJV)
(NKJV means New King James Version)
(NIV 1984 means New International Version 1984)
(Sorry about the weird text pieces)
(Sorry about the weird text pieces)
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