Any Questions?

We all have questions. I'd like to count how many I'm asked in a day. With kids and a growing congregation, this could add up quickly. Maybe if I started counting with my own questions I'd have better luck. When I read the book of Job, it seems that our main character has a lot of questions and is looking to pose them all to God. These are often deep questions, existential question. But all too often they are, at their core, selfish questions. Like us Job wants to know "why". He wants to "argue his case" (13:3), to "complain" 23:2 to God. It all seems so unfair - warfare, sickness, death, struggles in relationships and struggles with ourselves. We want to know why - to argue, to complain. By God's mercy, He lends an ear to these complaints. But like the Father He is, full of loving discipline, sometimes God needs to ask questions of us.  There are times, like in Job 38:4-18, where God reminds us of who we are in relationship to Him. How can we, with our wavering hearts and wandering minds propose to comprehend and direct God's purposes? Where were we when He laid the the foundation of the earth? Are we the ones who command the morning to come and the night to fall? When we question God, asking the "why", I believe we must realize that God is shaping our lives and ultimately knows what He is doing. When God in His wisdom laid out the path of our lives, He knew things that we could never imagine. He knew we would fall, and yet He created us still. He knew the results of that fall would have us continuing to seek our own way - to try with all our will and might to answer the question of why our lives are such a mess. Problem is, our answers always seem to end up blaming God, rather than seeing that He is the solution, not the problem. See, God also knew that His Son would suffer all for our sin. God's plan was, is and always will be to deliver His people and extend His love forever. When asking the "why" questions, let's run them through the "what" first - that's Jesus, and His cross for you!