Questioning God

Some 3500 years ago Job fired some pretty thorny accusations at God.

The arguments and heated discussions found in the book of Job still captivate us today. Echoes of Job’s plight can be heard in the sentiments of those who suffer. And the answers that came thick and fast from his friends and family are still used by well-meaning, but drastically wrong comforters today.

Get close enough and deep enough to someone dying from cancer and you will hear the age-old frustration of Job escape tortured lips. “I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me. You turn on me ruthlessly; with the might of your hand you attack me” (Job 30:20, 21).
“Why me? What have I done? Why do you hate me, God?”

Sitting under a tree scraping his boils with shards of broken pottery, Job mourns. His animals have been burned by fire from heaven, his children crushed at a party, his body covered in boils and all he has left is a nagging wife (“Curse God and die!” was her comforting council) and three friends who come to heap insult upon injury.
What do you, as the bedside visitor, say? If you’re like Job’s friends you take one of three lines.

1. “God is good. We are evil. You are hiding some sin from God. Confess it now and you will be made whole!”

2. “The devil is out to get you. Ask God for protection and you will be protected!”

3. “Do you really think that you matter to God? Ha! He’s too busy to concern Himself with your petty problems!”

Read Chapters 1, 2 and 42 of Job. They give a powerful slant on the world we live in. We’re participating in a battle between cosmic spiritual superpowers. God’s angels are busy battling; His Spirit is busy prodding and listening; and His Son is busy sharing His blood with anyone who will accept it. The picture for the future is bright—eternal life with our loving Father.

But what about now?
Is it OK to question God?
Gideon asked for signs; Jeremiah questioned God’s slow judgment of wicked men; Samuel questioned God’s wisdom in anointing a new king while Saul was still alive; even Jesus, God’s own Son, questioned God’s plan of salvation and asked if there were any other way to succeed in saving humanity other than dying on a cross.

So, is it OK to question God?
The answer is obviously yes. God is not above being tested or questioned. He wants us to trust Him, and so He does everything He can to earn that trust.
If you have some questions for God—go ahead. Fire away. But His answers are very rarely what we expect. The central question Job asked God was, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” God’s reply to Job (chapters 38-41) in a nutshell is, “No time-bound human, living on a rebellious planet, blind to the realities of the unseen world, has the ability to comprehend such answers.”
We aren’t always called to understand God’s leading. Just to follow. He may lead us through valleys or we may conquer mountains together. But the key is just that—together.
The short-term movements of God may be a mystery to us—but the long-term plan is impossible to misunderstand. God is out to save you. Hold on to Him at all costs!

Bible quotations are from the NIV.