Sometimes people are afraid to question God. It can seem disrespectful, or somehow divinely offensive. After all, if I believe God is God then He’s unquestionable, right? Obviously, there are ways that questioning God or doubting His way can be done in a disrespectful way but the act, in and of itself, doesn’t have to be seen as arrogant or faithless. In truth, anything that cannot stand up to scrutiny is considered to be weak and ineffective. It is often insecurity and fear that would keep someone from wanting to be questioned or challenged. That insecurity is fueled by the uncertainty that they may have in their own heart and mind. After all, if you’re not 100% sure you’re right you don’t really want to be challenged and find out you were wrong. God is not insecure and is certainly not afraid of your biggest, deepest, most challenging questions. Are you brave enough to ask them and receive His response? That may be the better question.
Have you ever climbed a tall ladder that is leaning against a building? For a short time I worked as a ‘roof cleaner’. That is a long story maybe I will share one day. We were helping plant a new church several states away from home and I did not have a job yet. Someone gave me an opportunity to make some money for my family by pressure washing shingles on big, expensive homes. Sometimes the homes were three and four stories tall and we would have to climb very tall ladders to reach the top. Whenever we would put the ladder in place, the last thing we would do (almost instinctively) was to shake the ladder to be sure it was on firm foundation and wouldn’t shift on us halfway up the ladder. We didn’t shake the ladder to make it fall, we shook it to reassure ourselves that it would stand. Knowing the ladder is made to be climbed on, or that it was made of strong material wasn’t always enough assurance for us to start the climb. However, once we arrived at the new job, got the ladder in place and gave it a good shake, we seldom felt the need to shake it again. It stood firm even when we were uncertain and each time we scaled it we were more and more confident.
When we go through difficult times or move into new, uncharted areas in our faith journey, we can find ourselves with questions and concerns that weren’t there before. Does that mean we have lost our faith? Does the presence of questions somehow demonstrate that we don’t trust God any longer? It doesn’t have to. Any real relationship will be tested, not to make it weaker, but to make it stronger. You can share your confusions and concerns with Him. God is not a heartless dictator. Certainly, God is very much in charge and is in no way weak or intimidated. However because He is neither weak nor intimidated, He is not afraid of your doubt, concern or questions. Are you afraid to ask? Are you afraid of the answer you might receive?
Questions make us vulnerable. When we are unsure of the goodness of God we can be afraid to be vulnerable with Him. However, sometimes the only way we can move forward in our day is to ‘shake the ladder’ and see if our faith is still on firm foundation. Let God know your fear, your confusion or your doubts. Ask Him to confirm and reassure you and then watch Him build your confidence with every step you take.
10 Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10 NIV
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. I John 3:19-20
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