Burning Questions For God

Over the years I have heard people say something to the effect of, "When I get to heaven I have some questions to ask God"--almost to challenge God to explain Himself.  Isn't it ironic to be bold or even proud over our own ignorance?  Praise the LORD He is pleased to hear our prayers and answer questions we may have right now, but let's not for a moment feel He is under any obligation to respond to our requests.  Are not His ways higher than ours?  As a passage in the book of Joshua reveals, because of our severely limited perspective and understanding we can ask the wrong questions.

Joshua had been called by God to be strong and courageous as He obediently led the children of Israel over Jordan and into the promised land.  When Joshua approached the stronghold of Jericho he was met by an unexpected and armed "man" in Joshua 5:13-15:  "And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, "Are You for us or for our adversaries?" ¹⁴ So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?" ¹⁵ Then the Commander of the LORD'S army said to Joshua, "Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy." And Joshua did so."

Upon seeing this armed Man Joshua boldly asked if he was for Israel or their adversaries.  The Man responded with "No."  Initially this seems an improper response, but the reality was Joshua was asking the wrong questions because he imagined he was in command.  The Man Joshua questioned was revealed to be the Commander of the LORD's army and infinitely outranked him.  Realising his question was invalid because of the identity of this divine Man who received worship, the One whose presence made the ground they stood upon holy, Joshua fell on his face before Him "...whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." (Micah 5:2)  Joshua realised he was face to face with the living God in human form and his question completely changed:  "What does my Lord say to His servant?"  Instead of demanding an answer to a challenge, Joshua begged his LORD to choose the subject of conversation and waited for God to speak.

With a personal revelation of God Joshua's question drastically changed.  Currently the best we can do is ask questions from an imperfect, incomplete understanding of God and His plans.  It therefore follows our questions are focused on the wrong things.  The answers to countless questions men wrestle with are provided in scripture, and God has also invited us to ask Him for wisdom when we lack it.  During our earthly pilgrimage there will always be unknowns because of our limited minds and skewed perspectives, but faith in the living God comfortably fills these gaps with peace and rest.  If you have a burning question for God ask Him and wait patiently for His answer.  I imagine many of our burning questions will turn to fine ash in light of God's eternal glory.  Like Joshua's case you may not receive a direct answer to your particular question because it isn't the right question to ask.  Many times scripture recorded people who asked questions of Jesus and He answered with a question that seemed unrelated to the original statement because He was addressing the hearts of His hearers instead of the words used to camouflage them.

"What does my LORD say to His servant?" is a fitting request to our God who is not obligated to speak but is pleased to address all who humbly worship Him in spirit and truth.

The Compassionate Christ

In the face of trials and turmoil, we are prone to ask why a good God allows such things.  I am struck by the grim reality that if we could help it our aim would be to eliminate all need for God completely.  There is great appeal to us to live in a world without hunger or thirst, a world devoid of natural disasters like earthquakes which cause buildings to collapse or bushfires that consume property and wildlife.  We would gladly embrace a society free of conflict and angry rhetoric, a place where all people are loved and accepted with respect.  The utopia longed for by many has not been realised despite education, awareness, or effort.  Our hearts ache for those who have suffered tragic loss and wonder over the disparity between rich and poor.  When it comes to morality one person may grieve over what others celebrate.  This world is not what anyone wants it to be.

One thing I have been considering is how the miraculous deeds done by God in scripture have the common threads of His goodness and the great need of people.  A miracle is not required when a rich man needs to pay his bills, but when Jesus and Peter needed to pay the temple tax they did not have the money.  Jesus directed Peter to go to the sea, throw in a hook, and look in the mouth of the first fish he caught:  the money needed for the tax would be miraculously found.  A man with barns full of food does not need a miracle to eat, but the children of Israel in the wilderness didn't have sufficient bread or meat.  So God caused manna to appear and quail to flutter into the camp daily for 40 years so they would eat and be satisfied.  Think about it!  Can you think of one occasion when God did the miraculous when there was no need?  We are so naturally ungrateful and without trust in God we would prefer there be no need for Him who loves us and has freely given us life.  The way we view circumstances may suggest we would rather not have to trust God if we could help it.

Consider what Jesus did in the city of Nain in Luke 7:11-15:  "Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. ¹² And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." ¹⁴ Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." ¹⁵ So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother."  As Jesus arrived at the city, they were met by a funeral procession.  Luke tells us it was a dead man who was the only son of his mother who was a widow.  There was a woman who had suffered the loss of a husband and also the death of her son.  She wept as she walked, and Jesus had compassion on her.

This is what gets me:  some people would fault Jesus for having the power to prevent the death of the young man and not saving him before death--like Mary the sister of Lazarus.  But God had a plan in allowing Lazarus to die so through his resurrection after four days would prove Jesus is the Messiah and have life through faith in Him.  People who blame God as an evildoer for the circumstances He allows do not give Him the credit for the kindness He has already shown and all the good things He has done.  I do not hear anyone who has been born again complaining Jesus laid down His life on Calvary for sinners!  The passage does not tell us the widow or the townsfolk even had heard of Jesus.  Jesus drew near to the mourning woman and said to her, "Do not weep" or "Stop crying."  Does that sound insensitive to you?  We know it was not insensitive because of what He did next.  Jesus touched the coffin and said to the dead man being carried outside the city, "Young man, I say to you, arise."  And he did!  Jesus then presented the man alive to his mother, turning tears of sorrow to tears of joy.

If we were in Nain and had power to prevent this man's death, we would have made all effort to save him and it would have been right to do so.  But Jesus has the capacity to do what we cannot:  He can redeem a tragedy which has already occurred and make the result of His miraculous intervention better than if it never had happened!  God makes the trial and His redemptive purposes preferable to Him avoiding them.  This woman and her son both would have ultimately went the way of the earth in death, but through what Jesus did they may have believed on Him and been granted eternal life!  God has the ability to take a series of natural circumstances men would deem tragedies and turn them around for good.  When I say "for good" I mean in both the divine and eternal sense as Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."  Unless God had intervened, we would all be as that dead man, sorrowing and without hope like the widow.  But God has shown compassion on us and drew near at our time of need and miraculously opened our eyes to see He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Sifted and Saved

"For surely I will command, and will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground."

Amos 9:9

The writer of Hebrews reminded believers in chapter 12 not to despise the chastening of the LORD because this shows He is treating us as beloved children.  The children of Israel who entered into a covenant with God were no exception.  Amos revealed to the northern kingdom of Israel judgment was coming for the sins of the nation, but God would preserve those who repented and sought Him.  Even after being taken captive by Assyria and Babylon God would sift the house of Israel from wherever they were scattered to gather them again:  not the smallest grain would be lost.

Sifting isn't a comfortable process.  Grain, chaff, dirt, and other debris were tossed together to separate the grain from all the undesirable material.  C.H. Spurgeon made a great observation concerning the sifting God does with His people to separate them from what is undesirable to Him to sanctify us unto Himself:  "I think I see you, poor believer, tossed about like that wheat, up and down, right and left, in the sieve, and in the air, never resting. Perhaps it is suggested to you, ‘God is very angry with me.’ No, the farmer is not angry with his wheat when he casts it up and down in the sieve, and neither is God angry with you; this you shall see one day when the light shall show that love ruled in all your griefs.”  Times of hardship and upheaval does not mean God is against you, for He loves those who trust Him.  Like the children of Israel sin always has negative consequences for us, but having repented in submission to Jesus we find His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

What confidence we can have God will not leave, forsake, or forget us!  He has sifted His people from among Israel and Gentile nations so we might be one Body with Jesus Christ as our Head.  Romans 10:12-13 says, "For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. ¹³  For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."  We are like the smallest grain He refuses to waste because God treasures us according to the riches of His grace because we have obtained righteousness by faith in Christ.  Whilst the Amos passage can be applied to the life of believers, Israel still has a special place in God's plans and purposes (see Romans 9-10).  The church has not supplanted Israel whom God compares in many places to His betrothed.   Praise the LORD for His goodness to all who trust in Him!

The Unprofitable but Good Servant

I am often amazed by the depth of insights in God's Word in passages familiar to me.  It is similar to sitting down to assemble a challenging jigsaw puzzle and find myself unable to find the piece I am looking for.  How many times have I walked away from the puzzle to make a tea or grab a snack and seconds after returning find many pieces which fit!  The internal consistency and accuracy of the Bible provides exceptionally strong evidence of its divine origin.

Take the parable Jesus told of the master who gave one mina (worth about 3 month's salary according to the Bible Knowledge Commentary) to ten of his servants and told them, "Do business until I return."  Luke 19:15-16 says, "And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. ¹⁶ Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.'"  The first servant who reported to his master had been most productive.  Undoubtedly he threw himself into his master's business and came away with a sizable profit.  In the hands of this faithful servant the mina had multiplied into ten.

Now had I been this servant who reported on the results of trading almost every sentence I can think of would start with "I":  "I invested the money in gold" or "I earned ten minas."  What would you say of your accomplishment, happy to report concerning your success?  The servant simply said, "Master, your mina has earned ten minas."  This servant completely downplayed his role in investing, trading, working long hours to achieve this good result.  Listening to him it seems the exponential increase had nothing to do with him:  without the money provided by his master he would have nothing.  He remained a servant despite his success, for all he had (and himself besides!) belonged to his master.  More than a savvy businessman, this servant was truly humble.  That's what came through to me.

Luke 19:17 says, "And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.'"  Is it any surprise the master commended his faithful and humble servant?  The good servant demonstrated rule over management of time and resources, and he who is faithful over little will be faithful over much.  What great virtues are honesty, integrity, and humility, and these God will reward such who walk in obedience to Him.  Proverbs 16:32 says, "He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city."  The servant demonstrated himself faithful with the master's money so the master gave him cities to oversee.  Wise business and wealth management has many benefits, but the humility of the servant is what I covet to see reflected in my life by God's grace.  We cannot blame God for our failure but ought to always honour Him in our success.

Should humility ever be perceived within me, like the good servant I cannot rightly lay claim to it being my doing though it involves effort and sacrifices.  Humility is not my natural inclination or desire.  What Jesus taught in Luke 17:7-10 illustrates this well:  "And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'? ⁸ But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? ⁹ Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. ¹⁰ So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.'"  We couldn't even be slaves except God had purchased us by His grace.  God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.