It’s okay to have questions

Doubt can be dangerous for Christians. Doubt often causes us to distance ourselves from God. Distance leads to disobedience and soon our faith atrophies. God wants us to believe without wavering. But sometimes that’s hard. If anyone should have believed without wavering, it was John the Baptist. Even in the womb, Jesus’ cousin recognized the Lord, leaping at the sound of Mary’s voice (Luke 1: 41-45). John’s whole life was, “to prepare the way for the Lord” (Luke 3:4). He declared Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” How did he know? “The one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen, and I testify that this is the Son of God” (John 1:29-34).
Later John asked a big question, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Luke 7:20). What changed? John was in a prison cell after speaking out against the Roman king and his adulterous marriage. He had faithfully proclaimed the coming of God’s Kingdom. He had rebuked the religious elite and the irreligious royals. And rather than blessings, his efforts brought down wrath. He did what God asked of Him and the results were harsh. He would lose his head over it. Can you blame the poor fellow? Haven’t you and I questioned God for less?
With all that he knew, John – weary and discouraged – began to doubt. But Jesus didn’t chastise John. He pointed him back to the evidence. “What do you see, John?” “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor” (Luke 7:22). Look beyond your circumstances, John. You preached the coming of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 3:1). You spoke of my power (Mark 1: 7). Your own words are being fulfilled in Me. Then He added, “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me” (Luke 7:23).
My questions made me search for answers. And those answers strengthened my faith. Ask your questions Beloved. He will not chastise you. He will give you answers that will ground and strengthen your faith. Jesus not only has the answers, He is the answer.

The Most Important Question

It is my heart’s desire to teach Joy about God, but she teaches me all the time. She is usually very compliant and agreeable to whatever we ask her to do, but occasionally she will get a defiant attitude and refuse to cooperate. We had a few of those occasions when she was home last week. After some stubborn resistance, she asked me, “What does God say?” To which I answered, “God wants you to obey and . . . pick up your toys, or eat your breakfast, or get your shoes on . . . And she does. Because God said.

Imagine how different the world would be if Eve had turned to Adam and asked, “What does God say?” Because God had already told the man “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil . . .” (Gen 2:17). Instead they took the fruit and plunged the entire human race into sin and condemnation.

Imagine how different your life would be if you met every temptation with the same question. When the urge to surf the internet for porn hits, “What does God say?” “I will set before my eyes no vile thing” (Ps 101:3). When a friend offers you drugs or alcohol, “What does God say?”  “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline” (2 Tim 1:7). When a family member hurts you deeply and you want to tell them off, “What does God say?” “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Lk 6:27-28).

Let’s look at this again from another perspective. When your heart is wounded and weary, “What does God say?” “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Ps 34:18). When you feel unloved and unlovable, “What does God say?” “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jer 31:3). When I’ve missed the right way and feel like a lost cause, “What does God say?” “Your Father is not willing that any should be lost” (Mat 18:14).

You and I will ask a lot of questions in our lives, but none more important than Joy’s question. Because God always says what is right and true and His Word leads us to eternal life in Christ. Let my granddaughter be your teacher today. Beloved, “What does God say?”

Real Questions and Real Answers

When my younger brother was little, he was full of questions and I, being the wise older sister, tried to answer all of them. Until he became obsessed with this one: “Who put outside outside?” None of our answers sufficed. Then our dad said, “When people built buildings there wasn’t enough room for the whole world to be inside, so some of it had to stay outside.” And that satisfied him.

We may not ponder questions as complex as that, but there are questions that every person on earth needs to face:

1. Where did life come from?

2. What happens when we die?

3. How can we explain human behavior?

4. How can I determine right from wrong?

5. What is the purpose of man?

These questions shape our worldview and our worldview shapes our belief system. Our entire outlook on life is informed by our answers to these questions.

The greatest tool of Satan is to numb man’s mind so he does not think about these things. Instead, he has us obsessing over worldly, useless things that have no eternal significance.  We are awed by the opulence of celebrities rather than by the Creator of the brilliant heavens.  We fill our minds with worldly wisdom and ignore the wisdom of the Bible.  We build fortresses to protect us from our enemies and the enemy of our soul laughs as he wanders into our homes through the world wide web.  We refuse to worship God but pour out our highest accolades on athletes who carry a ball down a field.  Republicans and Democrats battle each other while our true enemy has free reign in our nation.  We are chasing after success rather than chasing after God. 

Satan doesn’t want us to ponder these questions because he knows that the answers will ultimately point us to God.  Life came from God (Gen 1-2). After death, we stand before God for eternal punishment or eternal life (Heb 9:27). Human behavior is the result of the first human’s sinful rebellion against their Creator (Gen 3). Right from wrong is spelled out in the Bible (Ps 119:9). The purpose of man is to love and worship God (Col 1:16; Rev 4:11). Until we face the real questions of humanity – and discover the true answers – we will continue to see evil in this world.  We must start asking the important questions, first to ourselves then in our homes and churches and communities.  Beloved, how will you answer these questions?

Why Do You Worship God?

Sunday morning as I walked Joy to her “Honey School” class we walked past the sanctuary and she asked me if I was going to the big church to sing. I said yes. Then, like all good three-year-olds should do, she started peppering me with “Why’s.” “Why do you want to sing” “To worship God.” “Why do you want to worship God?” “Because I love God and because He is great,” I answered.

All of creation worships its Creator. David said, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands” (Ps 19:1). Every rumble of thunder is a call to praise. The trees clap their hands in worship (Is 55:12). The rocks cry out His praise (Luke 19:40). Birds sing. Crickets chirp. Frogs croak. The sound of their worship fills the skies. I love to worship. Corporately, privately, with shouts, and through tears. I love Sundays with my church family, all our voices blending together to praise the One who saved us. If you see me when I’m driving you may catch me belting out a song with one hand on the steering wheel and the other raised to the roof. You might want to proceed with caution. And worship is not just music. I usually write out my private worship – words are my love language. But the sweetest worship is singing of the goodness of God in lovely harmony with my granddaughter.

We are commanded in Scripture to worship God but the purest worship is voluntary – no, more than voluntary – it is drawn out of us from deep within. Like the angels in Isaiah’s vision who called to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Is 6:3). It is the response of our spirits to the Spirit of God. I think that when we get to heaven and stand in His presence, worship will be more than something we want to do, it will be something we have to do just by the sheer majesty of His glory.

Joy’s question stuck with me all day.  I mulled it over and over: Why do I worship God?  I realized the answer I gave her was true. I worship God because I love Him. I worship God because He is great. I worship God because He is worthy. Beloved, I encourage you to ponder her question: “Why do you worship God?” Then do it.

Questioning God

If anyone should have believed in Jesus without wavering, it was John the Baptist. John’s whole life was for one mission, “to prepare the way for the Lord” (Luke 3:4). Even in the womb, he recognized the Lord, leaping at the sound of Mary’s voice (Luke 1: 41-45). He knew Jesus was the Messiah and he declared Him as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world !” This was confirmed to John at the Lord’s baptism – “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’” He added emphatically, “I have seen, and I testify that this is the Son of God” (John 1:29-34). Yet John asked a big question, “Are the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Luke 7:20). What changed? John was in a prison cell for calling out the unrighteousness of the King. No wonder he was questioning Jesus. He did everything God asked of Him and the results were harsh. Can you blame the poor fellow? Despite all he knew, John – weary and discouraged – began to doubt.

But Jesus didn’t chastise John. He knew the man’s heart and that those doubts arose from the overwhelming blow he had been dealt. Jesus pointed John back to the evidence. “What do you see, John?” “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor” (Luke 7:22). Look beyond your circumstances, John. You preached the coming of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 3:1). You spoke of my power (Mark 1: 7). Your own words are being fulfilled in Me. Then He added, “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me” (Luke 7:23).
Questions are often the starting point for discovering the truth. Do you have a question for God? He will not chasten you. He will give you answers that will ground and strengthen your faith. Ask, Beloved, even with hot tears and a twinge of doubt. You will find that Jesus not only has the answers, He is the answer.

God, I Have a Question . . .

Doubt and unbelief are part of human nature in the presence of the supernatural. In reading the Gospel accounts of the resurrection I discovered a lot of unbelief. Matthew 28:17 says that, when Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples, “they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted.” The word used here comes from a root that means to take a second look. Luke gives us better insight into their doubts. He reports that when they saw the resurrected Lord, “they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement” (Luke 24:41). They were overcome with the unexplainable truth standing before them: Jesus, who was dead just days ago, was alive!

Sometimes our doubts and questions can be a powerful tool of spiritual growth if we allow them to make us look again, look deeper, and look for truth. I know that has been the case many times in my life. When I have had questions, and I took them to the Scriptures and to the Lord, I came away with answers that were solid and sure. I nailed down some important points of my faith.

Beloved, if you have questions, if you have doubts, take them honestly to God and ask Him to show you the answers. Dig deeply into the truth of the Word and seek wisdom from the Holy Spirit. The Lord says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). God is not offended by your questions. He wants you to seek the truth. He wants you to seek Him. He promises: “I will be found by you” (v. 14). That’s a promise worth searching out.

God, I have a Question

Doubt is a dangerous thing for the Christian.  Doubt causes us to distance ourselves from God.  Distance leads to disobedience and soon we loose our desire to witness for Christ.  God wants us to believe without wavering. But we are finite humans and sometimes it is hard to believe, especially when all things seem to point the other way. If anyone should have believed without wavering, it was Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist. Even in the womb, he recognized the Lord, leaping at the sound of Mary’s voice (Luke 1: 41-45). John’s whole life was for one mission, “to prepare the way for the Lord” (Luke 3:4). He knew Jesus was the Messiah and he declared Him as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” This was confirmed to John at the Lord’s baptism – “I saw the Sprit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’” He added emphatically, “I have seen, and I testify that this is the Son of God” (John 1:29-34). Yet John asked a big question, “Are the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Luke 7:20). What changed? John was in a prison cell after speaking out against the Roman king and his adulterous marriage. John’s circumstances were certainly not what he had expected. He had faithfully proclaimed the coming of God’s Kingdom. He had rebuked the religious elite and the irreligious royals. And rather than blessings, his efforts brought down the wrath of Herod’s wife. He did what God asked of Him and the results were harsh. Can you blame the poor fellow? Haven’t you and I questioned God for less?
With all that he knew, John – weary and discouraged – began to doubt. But Jesus didn’t chastise John. He knew the man’s heart and that those doubts arose from the overwhelming blow he had been dealt. Jesus pointed John back to the evidence. “What do you see, John?” “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor” (Luke 7:22). Look beyond your circumstances John. You preached the coming of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 3:1). You spoke of my power (Mark 1: 7). Your own words are being fulfilled in Me. Then He added, “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me” (Luke 7:23).
Questions are not the absence of faith. I have had many, many questions for God, and like John, my questions made me search for answers. And those answers strengthened my faith. God always answers honest questions. Don’t be afraid when questions creep in – take them to Jesus. He will not chasten you. He will give you answers that will ground and strengthen your faith. Ask your questions Beloved, Jesus not only has the answers, He is the answer.