Questioning God

The questions asked by God and by Jesus in the Bible are both fascinating and troubling. God asked Adam a series of questions in the garden of Eden after both Adam and Eve ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God asked a single leading question of Cain after he killed his brother, Abel. God asked Abraham, Moses and Job questions, some pointed, some comforting, some rebuking.

The answers were already known -- the questions were posed simply for the sake of revealing what was in the individual's heart, as well as our own. Our answers show our nature, for good or bad, for doing God's work or learning God's lessons. They allow us a fascinating glimpse into character studies of well-know individuals through the Bible and help us understand our own nature a bit better. As we apply the lesson found in the question, it can prove troubling to realize how we are responding to the same question, and understand what God is requiring of us.

As an example, one question, not found in scriptures, that I heard posed recently asked, "Which would upset you the most: to lose a thousand dollars, or to offend a brother or sister in the Lord?" There is no right or wrong answer to something like this -- it is not that kind of question. Instead, questions of this sort serve as a measuring stick by which we can check our growth and spiritual progress.

Most of us have tucked back a few questions like this that we pull out once in a while and check to see if we are growing a little bit, improving in the spirit. We don't need to tell anyone how we answer the questions. God already knows, and we are the only ones that need to know our own individual answers.

Isn't it exciting when we look back and compare some of our answers and can actually see change and growth and progress from how we responded in our hearts previously compared to what our reflexive response is today? I had to laugh at myself one day when I came back around to a scripture I had read and been convicted about the previous year. This time when I read it, the earlier issue was taken care of and a different issue was being highlighted by the Spirit. When I realized that, I got all excited for a moment that God was convicting me about a new issue -- I counted that as progress. And I still do.

Treasure the questions that God puts in your heart. Bind them up where you can find them and pull them out when needed, and feel welcome to rejoice any time you see that God has done a work in your life, sometimes after a prolonged struggle on the issue, sometimes in the background while you were focusing on a different topic entirely. The Spirit moves in ways we don't see or understand, and He loves to slip blessings in through the most unexpected ways. Be ready to receive something from God when you least expect it.

Father, thank You for providing us a door-frame in which we can pencil in our own personal growth marks. Thank You for the lessons that help us achieve that growth in such a way that we can take no personal pride in it, but can stay humble knowing that without Your convicting spirit and the power of Your word in our lives, that "city" wouldn't have been conquered for it had long been a thorn to us. Thank You, loving Father, for Your patience that will see the job through in each of us.

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