16
Nov '19
Changing Our Questions
16
Nov '19
“When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.” “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where You are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me. If you had really known Me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him!” John 14:3-7
Do you ever question God? There are times that I pray for things that do not come, and then I will ask why. Why didn’t a check come through the mail? Why didn’t my plan for work go well? Why is my computer still malfunctioning? These were all thoughts in my mind as things did not go as I wished they would. And yet through all of my frustration, there really was no doubt of who God was or His being wrong about it. Sometimes, you just want to look to God and ask for some idea when He says no. It does not mean we are questioning either His authority or His existence. It is our simply being curious and asking a simple question; why? The important thing for us to remember is to not substitute curiosity and our lack of understanding for doubting who God really is.
We must always be careful not to let our personal wants supersede God’s authority. The story of Jesus and Thomas has always been one that fascinates me for a couple of reasons. First is that it was only a few years ago that I learned this is where the expression of ‘doubting Thomas’ came from. Feel free to queue the ‘that’s so silly, Kent’ commentary. Now, the important stuff. The story of Thomas really is a subtle reminder of what our faith truly relies upon. Jesus had performed miracle after miracle all while His disciples watched. Yet, here Thomas was asking questions. “We have no idea where you are going,” he said. Somehow, I don’t quite get the impression Jesus omitted His plans about God’s Kingdom in His many teachings. But Thomas’s question raised a potential roadblock in our journey of faith. Do we rely on God or ourselves? Yesterday, I was running through the airport to make sure I made my flight on time. Once I got there, I was relieved and thankful. Now, I could have been the one thinking my running, organization, and preparation was the reason I successfully made it there in spite of some unexpected challenging traffic and a couple of detours due to ramp closings. However if I trust God, I knew the plane would somehow still be there. But what if I missed the plane? Wouldn’t I have every right to question God or even if He truly had any control over things in my life? The one time I actually did miss a flight, God provided for me by ensuring the ticket agent was a good friend of my father-in-law, and the agent routed me to a flight that got me there at the same time. When you know who God is, your questions change from, “Who are you,” to, “How can I serve you?” It moves from, “Why are you doing this to me,” to “What are you trying to teach me?” God has delivered for us time after time, and it is that truth that ensures our knowing both who He is and what He will do. This is how we can remove the barriers of doubt.
God truly is our everything. While it is human to at times have doubts, we have every confidence that God is real. This is what drives us to have knowledge of who Jesus is and who we serve. Let us rely on those things that reaffirm our faith instead of questioning or blaming God for those things that did not necessarily go our way. How can we ensure our questions confirm God instead of undermining His authority? How can our prayers focus on God’s sovereignty and not our own? My prayer is we continue to build on our confidence in God and change our questions. Amen.
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~Kent
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About Kent:
“I am what all Christians are: flawed and always growing. I am not immune to failure, and I don’t always do the right things, but I learn from my mistakes, and always show love to all who I know. Furthermore, through Christ I have joy knowing I have His grace even though I didn’t deserve it and His love even as I can’t imagine it. I have written devotion for the past 14 years using my life’s experiences both before and after being born again and focusing on its relevance to Biblical teachings and today’s culture.”
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