The Lord has been teaching me a great deal this year.
Recently, the Lord has been teaching me about questioning Him.
In scripture there are two ways to question the Lord.
One way is to seek God, learning to understand Him and His direction.
The other is questioning God's ways.
Romans 9:19 NLT — Well then, you might say, "Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven't they simply done what he makes them do?"
This second type of questioning has at the heart of it something dangerous: questioning God's character.
Romans 9:20 NLT — No, don't say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, "Why have you made me like this?"
I have asked God, "Why did You made me like this?" without truly understanding what I was saying.
Thankfully, God's Word brought to light my motivation.
The Lord brought me to these words in Romans, last week, and I saw myself in the question.
I also became aware of the accusation which is couched within the question.
In questioning God's ways I'm not trusting Him, nor am I taking into account His character.
Recognizing my sin, I sought the Lord's forgiveness and thanked Him for His correction.
And as always, I not only saw myself with more clarity, I saw the Lord with more clarity as well.
Job 42:2-6 KJV
[2] I know that thou canst do every thing, And that no thought can be withholden from thee. [3] Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that I understood not; Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. [4] Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. [5] I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: But now mine eye seeth thee. [6] Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent In dust and ashes.
It all comes down to the heart.
What is my motivation for the question?
Sometimes, I truly think I'm seeking to understand God, but if in doing so I forget the character traits of God, I'm in error.
It is only when I keep the character of God in the forefront of my thinking that I can ask the Lord with the proper heart.
Genesis 18:23-26 NLT
[23] Abraham approached him and said, "Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? [24] Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? [25] Surely you wouldn't do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn't do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?" [26] And the Lord replied, "If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake."
I'm thankful for this lesson and the circumstances God has brought to put these lessons into practice.
For what is better than to understand God more, day-by-day, through applying the Word to our hearts and seeking Him with the proper motivation?
My husband's prayer last night crystalized it perfectly.
"Thank You Lord, for trusting us with this."
For it is through the difficult, that we have great opportunity to praise God and draw closer to Him.
It is in the trials we learn how awesome God is.
Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for how You are walking our family through all these things. Lord, I need Your strength to endure these days of illness. Please be glorified through us and let us not fail You by questioning Your character, but rather let our hearts be encouraged, for we know You are good and merciful and true and holy and pure and loving, therefore we can look to Your Word and be secure no matter what difficulties come. Thank You! What a blessing! How awesome it is to know that we are never forgotten, never overlooked. You know all and You love us throughout. Thank You! Lord, may my life bring glory to Your name. I love You. Amen.
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