Oct
14
2013
Questions
Posted in Poetry 6 Comments
Every little child asks,
The famous question, Why?
We come to You, O Father,
With our groaning and our sighs.
There is so much unanswered,
So much to understand,
No clarity in Your higher ways,
Not sure of all You planned.
How do we have faith anyway?
Is it a gift from You?
Can we trust Your goodness,
To always see us through?
Sometimes it makes no sense at all,
Why Your people suffer so.
Sadness and brokenness everywhere,
No matter where we go.
We can give our explanations,
We can justify our tears,
We can offer up our suffering,
We can rationalize our fears.
Yet when we are alone in bed,
With just our thoughts to think,
Your goodness and bad things happening,
Just seem so out of sync.
Couldn’t You write Your name in the sky?
Couldn’t You make it clear?
Couldn’t You yell through a megaphone,
So everyone would hear?
We read Your Word and understand,
Until the next hard verse,
Instead of feeling better,
Sometimes we just feel worse.
Shootings, killing, children die,
Taken much too soon.
If You would give us a reason why,
Write Your answer on the moon.
You say there is a Greater Good,
That You’re working all the time,
For those that love You and are called,
To Your purposes sublime.
You allow us to ask questions,
You welcome heartfelt prayers,
Most often the answer we really need,
Is that You’re truly there.
There in all our struggles,
There in all our pain,
There in our confusion,
That our suffering’s not in vain.
You are God and we are not,
That is surely true.
If we have You figured out,
Then You would not be You.
God is love and God is just.
Both things the same time true.
We really don’t want You to be fair,
We want Your mercies anew.
Fairness is a human quality,
Mercy is Divine.
You never let go for a minute,
You hold us and say, You’re mine!
That really is enough for us,
That’s all we need to know,
We don’t go through this life alone,
You’re with us wherever we go.
There is a way to really know,
The answer to the Why of God.
It’s knowing Jesus, the Shepherd,
His voice, His staff, His rod.
In Jesus we see Innocence suffering,
For the unrighteous, the Righteous will die.
The sin of the world on His shoulders,
Even Jesus asked You, Why?
Jesus asked for a different way,
There’s no Crown without the Cross,
Jesus laid down His own will,
He suffered to save the lost.
You know that it is difficult,
To understand Your ways,
At the end of our quest and confusion.
There will only be worship and praise.
_________________________________________________________________________
Questions are a good thing.
Often, there is no answer that will satisfy our hurting soul.
We feel as if our question just begs another question.
At the end, we are more confused.
We can always find answers to our questions in God’s Word.
Yet, without looking at the whole of Scripture, our answers are out of context.
The ONLY answer to all of our questions is the presence of God.
God incarnate. God in the flesh. Jesus.
We can sit for hours and try to find answers to our specific questions.
Apart from Christ, the answers will never satisfy.
The answers become textbook answers that have no connective-ness apart from Jesus.
Job wanted his day in court.
If he was blameless, Job wanted to know why he was suffering.
Ironically, God said Job was blameless and upright.
Then why was he suffering?
The age-old theodicy question: If God is good, why is there suffering?
Our finite minds, cannot resolve this question.
It doesn’t make sense to us.
We think that if it doesn’t make sense to us then the problem is with God.
It can’t make sense to us because we are not God.
We can’t figure God out, because He is totally “other”.
God allowed Job to lament and ask all his questions.
But then God answered Job’s questions with His own questions.
Unanswerable questions unless you are God.
The Lord said to Job: “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? Let him who accuses God answer Him!” Then Job answered the Lord, “I am unworthy – how can I reply to You? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer – twice, but I will say no more.” Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm: “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me…” Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that You can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures My counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand; things too wonderful for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you will answer Me.’ My ears have heard of You but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 40:1-7 and Job 42:1-6)
If we understood God’s ways, if we had God all figured out, He would not be God.
We must ask God for the faith to believe.
We need His help so we can trust Him even when we don’t understand.
God is God and we are not.
Amen!
I feel like I need to print this out and post it on my fridge to read everyday. Thank you for always trying to help answer the questions that I have <3 You are an amazing woman and I am so thankful God has put you in my life to help guide me through my very own 'why' phase 🙂
Melissa,
It is a privilege to answer your questions as God leads.
You are growing and searching…how wonderful to be a part of that alongside you.
Gina
Thank you Gina! What a lovely poem and commentary. Yesterday I was particularly worried and anxious about a personal issue resolving itself in the way I was hoping for. I picked up my daily devotional and like it regularly happens, the message is what I needed to hear at that point in time. I thought I would share it with you, in case it can be helpful to you too.
“Anxiety is a result of envisioning the future without Me. So the best defense against worry is staying in communication with Me. When you turn your thoughts toward Me, you can think much more positively. Remember to listen, as well as to speak, making your thoughts a dialogue with Me.
If you must consider upcoming events, follow these rules: 1) Do not linger in the future, because anxieties sprout up like mushrooms when you wander there. 2) Remember the promise of My continual Presence; include Me in any imagery that comes to mind. This mental discipline does not come easily, because you are accustomed to being god of your fantasies. However, the reality of My Presence with you, now and forevermore, outshines any fantasy you could ever imagine.”
Luke 12:22-26; Ephesians 3:20-21
Thank you, Gina
Marion
Thank you, Marion.
Isn’t it wonderful that we have God’s Word?
“…the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:15-17)
GOD-BREATHED…I have always loved that…inspired by God.
I am so delighted that God allowed our paths to cross in Bible study.
Gina
“Savior, like a shepherd lead us, much we need Thy tender care.”
Thank you, Gina, for pointing us back to Him.
Michele,
Looking to HIM is the only perspective that matters.
Everything else falls short.
Gina