When Is It Alright to Question God?
Written by: Kathy Curry
There are so many events, incidents, circumstances, tragedies, and mishaps that occur in our lives that make us wonder: what is going on, why is this happening, how did I end up here going through this, when will it end, who am I to have to endure this, etc.
Imagine this: you are a champion athlete. You have trophy after trophy, and blue ribbon after blue ribbon to prove it. Your foot slips ½ inch and throws everything off and life as you know it ends. You have a torn ligament that will never heal properly and has taken you out of sports altogether? What could be sadder?
Isn’t it disconcerting when you have gone to college, gotten your degree, searched and searched for a job and you hear about “it”, the perfect job for you, but you are too late. The job is closed. The opportunity is passed. You heard about it, but one day, 2 hours, 28 minutes, and 12 seconds too late.
And why was your child in the back seat of the car the day the neighbor’s child decided to drive drunk and kill everybody in the car except himself?
Why did your husband walk into the Chase towers the same day Yvonne Smith decided to take, a non-typical detour, and walk through on the same day, at the same time, at the exact second to bump into him, thus igniting the start of their relationship and the end of yours?
Why does my baby have Down syndrome when I didn’t drink, do drugs, or smoke cigarettes, yet Suzie did all of those irresponsible things and her baby is healthy?
Why did my mom die before the promised age of 70 years old?
As Christians, do any of these scenarios give us the right to question God and what seems to be His will, or at least the path that our life, by no fault of our own, takes? Is it alright to get mad at God? Is anger toward God allowed by those of us who claim to love Him and rely on Him for guidance and blessings in our lives? Again I ask, when is it ok to question God? When is it ok to be angry with God? When is it ok to challenge God? Is that part of being His child and understanding our walk with Him or should we just say, thine will be done oh Lord? Is that a passive Christian or is that truly an interactive Christian who wants a deeper knowledge and understanding of their Father? Do these actions toward God diminish His respect for us and does putting God on the spot come at a cost to us?
I had an Aunt just die recently and to be honest it makes me wonder, was her death truly God’s will? Is it alright to at least wonder?
Tags: Christianity, Heavenly Father
October 26th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
God is not a limited individual who sits alone up in the clouds on a golden throne. God is pure Consciousness that dwells within everything. Understanding this truth, learn to accept and love everyone equally.
October 28th, 2008 at 6:45 am
Sorting out the sensibles, rationals,logicals and reasonables of life are difficult enough. Even more challenging is to try to sort out the things that God allows. According to Romans 11:33 “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! ” Certainly I will never make sense of what God allows and disallows. I don’t have the handle on humanity–or me!
Without question, every good change requires a change. Things that are perceived to be bad or are even of retribution, are often good in disguise–or work out in the end. The Apostle Paul said in 2Cor. 4:17 “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” And…Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
I got a word sometime ago about our “system of deserves.” “If we are going to complain about all the bad things that happen to us that we do not deserve, we should also complain about God allowing the good things to come to us that we are not deserving of.”
http://www.soulpurposeinternational.org
October 28th, 2008 at 10:39 am
I just received the following in an email. I think it’s relevant to this post:
A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: “I don’t believe that God exists.” “Why do you say that?” asked the customer. “Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn’t exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children?
If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can’t imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things.” The customer thought for a moment, but didn’t respond because he didn’t want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.
Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barbershop again and he said to the barber: “You know what? Barbers do not exist.”
“How can you say that?” asked the surprised barber. “I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!” “No!” the customer exclaimed. “Barbers don’t exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.”
“Ah, but barbers DO exist! That’s what happens when people do not come to me.”
“Exactly!” affirmed the customer. “That’s the point! God, too, DOES exist!
That’s what happens when people do not go to Him and don’t look to Him for help.
That’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”
Kim Sawyers last blog post..The Plots to Assassinate Barack Obama Begins….
October 29th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Thank you Bishop Fonzer and thank you Kim. Both touched me.
Bishop Fonzer, you are correct, it is difficult for me to try to sort out my own life and the going ons at times. I was raised not to fool with the mysteries of God’s works. However, there are times when, no matter how much you trust Him and know Him to be real, you have questions as to His will. Even if you don’t want to, you do.
Kim that story might be too slightly long for marketing sake, but if possible, it needs to be posted any and every where allowed! It is such a simple yet profound message of why we all need to come to God so He can clean us up!!! I’m about to shout. Let me go…..
November 22nd, 2008 at 8:09 am
Kathy, I believe we have all realized the need to accept Jesus as our Personal Savior, and it’s our free will that enables to make that choice. Having said that I too was quite angry with God for things that were occurring in my life. Here is my story:
I have been in 3 serious relationships in my life. The last two of which I felt God was involved in getting together, they said the right things, believe the right things and did the right things. In those two cases, well before I met the women I handed over to God the desire of my heart to be in a good solid Christian relationship. I continued to move forward with my life, casting my bread on the water so to speak. Focusing on God and what I felt he wanted me to do, and being quite happy with who I was and where I was heading in my walk with Jesus and my life. Both relationship were a disaster in a sense.
The first was because of event in her childhood made being together impossible. We remain the best of friends to this day and I bless God for her everyday.
The second ended when the woman said “God” wanted her to not date anyone for a year, then she was to distance herself from me for some unknown time or reason (rather hard since we work together). She can’t look me in the eye or speak to me, and in fact tends to run the other way when she sees me, Guilt, shame, a Spirit of Convection or something else, who knows.
Just to realize that she is involved with a believer in Hinduism, who I believe works with us. Even up to the day before “God” spoke to her she professed her love for God and myself, and was looking forward to spending the rest of her life with me.
Having said that, I got angry with God, I was upset that he was unable to help me reach the desires of my heart, even though I’ve always been told that God knows the desire of my heart. I cried out to him in anger asking why this happened, that if he wasn’t able to help me with the desires of my heart a solid Christian relationship, how could he help me or anyone else with anything.
Where was he when I needed him, why did he fail me in finding the right relationship. Why does everyone else in this situation “appear” happy and ok with what is going on and I’m hear standing looking at my heart stomped in mush, not sure I can/want to be in a relationship with anyone now or ever. When I trusted God with this??? When was he going to exact justice against the people that used him as a weapon against me??? Why did this happen to me??? When When Why Why….. Those were the questions.
Then I remembered something Charles F. Stanley said that went something like this. ‘God doesn’t snatch something away from you to leave you standing there empty handed, he does it so that you have your hands free for something better’. I also realized that if someone truly has a personal walk with Jesus, getting angry at him at times is part of who we are. We get angry at our best friends at times. They key is that we don’t let the anger impact our relationship with him. God understand us and who we are better than we understand ourselves.
So now, I sit here writing this post thanking God for getting me out of a situation what could have lead to my downfall regarding my walk with him. Praying for a healing of my heart and spirit to make me ready for the blessings that are coming my way. telling him how sorry I am for getting angry with him, and thanking him for his ability to forgive for the anger I displayed towards him. I thank him for giving me the strength and ability to forgive her for what she has done to me.
I pray for the woman still, most likely will continue to in hopes that she realizes exactly what she is playing with being unequally yoked and the risk to her eternal life. I pray for a healing for her from whatever in her past seems to be driving her future and her walk away from with God and she find the right path to return to him. I pray that God will protect her and watch over her.
I pray that if she was the one that God has chosen for me and we met too soon, that he heals both of us from past wrongs and hurts that we did to each other and others have done to us so that we can be together with him and his blessings.
Most of all I pray that God’s will not my will be done in my life.
Dave
November 22nd, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Dave, thank you for sharing you experiences. God bless you and give you the desires of your heart!