Okay to Question….God?
Is it okay to question God, the almighty creator of the universe, the alpha and omega, the landlord of everything? I mean, how can we as mere mortals possibly understand God, who created the universe, knows how many hairs are on our heads, knows every thought inside our minds (scary), and so forth?
Well, we cannot understand him. He knows HIS ways are way above our ways. And that is precisely why we will have questions. So, in my humble opinion, it is more than okay to question God. If fact, the Bible is full of examples of people questioning God. Two of the most famous examples are Jesus and Moses. When Jesus was praying in the garden, he asked God to take this cup of suffering from him, but let God’s will be done. He knew it was coming, but he still asked. He questioned it. Moses, a mere mortal like us, questioned God a little further. He said who am I, that I should go to pharaoh. He also asked what was he going to say to the Israelites, when he went to Egypt. Then he asked God, what if they did not believe him. Therefore, there is definitely a Biblical precedent for questioning God.
However, my favorite example is a lesser known Bible hero named Gideon. I have written about Gideon briefly in a previous post. Gideon was beating wheat in a whine press because an invading army was plundering his land, when an angel appeared. The angel told him, “God is with you, mighty warrior”. To put this in complete perspective, Gideon is hiding his food from an invading army, and no relief is in sight. The angel just said, “God is with you”. Well, it sure did not look to Gideon like the Lord was with him. He asked what any rational, sane, human being would ask: “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us….”. God then told Gideon to deliver Israel from the invaders. Gideon said you gotta be kidding. The he asks for proof that God was with him. Gideon, albeit very reluctantly, eventually kicks the invading army out of Israel. The complete story is in Judges 6-8. Gideon’s story is both inspiring and entertaining. He may be the most “human” of all the Bible heroes.
In retrospect, it is completely okay and understandable to question God. Since HIS understanding is far greater than our own understanding, he realizes that we will have questions. Jesus, Moses, and especially Gideon questioned God, and he patiently tolerated it. Go ahead. Ask questions. It’s okay….really.