Last weekend in Bible study was just the most recent of many times that I’ve joked that I’m on volume 3 of my questions for God, so don’t get behind me in the line to ask God questions. You might be there for an eternity.
The truth is that I’m only half joking. I haven’t actually written down my questions for God, but I probably have enough of them to fill at least 3 volumes. When I started seminary, I thought I’d get answers to my theological questions, but I walked away with a degree and even more questions than when I started. One of my professors pointed out that it means I did seminary right. They equipped me with tools to “work out my salvation” (Philippians 2:12) and help others do the same. Honestly, the professors who asked the most questions were usually the ones with the most experience and knowledge. I guess that should have tipped me off during my first semester.
One truth I’ve had to accept is that on this side of heaven, I will never have all the answers, but I’m glad when we get to heaven all things will be known. No standing in line to ask God questions. No more wondering why God withholds some answers from us in this life. No more misunderstandings. We will have unlimited answers to our unlimited questions. That’s something to look forward to.
Why Do My Kids Like Seaweed?
The short answer: I have no idea.
The long answer involves a former neighbor and summer lunches at the park, and it ends with the fact that I still don’t understand their love for seaweed. Sometimes I can relate to Nicodemus in the garden that night. I get it, but I just don’t get it. There are so many questions I’ve asked that God has answered with John 3:12: “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” (ESV)
At least Nicodemus got some kind of explanation as to why all his questions weren’t being answered. Job just got bombarded with questions. Our minds were not created to understand God’s ways. It would be easier to describe the color green to a blind person than to understand the answers to some of my questions.
Why does God allow pain? Philip Yancey takes a stab at answering that one in the video linked below, but I honestly don’t think there’s just one reason. Why did God give me unique fingerprints? I can think of a few possible reasons, but ultimately I’m not sure. Why did God allow Satan to influence the world? I have no idea. Who were the Nephilim (Genesis 6) and why were they on earth? Still don’t know.
That’s just a quick sample of the questions I hope to understand one day when my mind can handle God’s real answers.
Why Did I Get Up This Morning?
The short answer: My alarm clock went off.
The long answer involves a clock…and lost shoes, substitute school bus drivers, and a couple of crazy guinea pigs. I need my time in the morning, but time is one of those double-edged swords. Time is one of those tools that we so often misuse. Sometimes time is on our side, but more often the good experiences go too quickly and the negative ones never end. Emotions and time mix like water and oil.
One of the obstacles I face is that I have to live with my questions right now, and some of those questions are harder to live with than others. Some of my questions come out of a place of curiosity or practicality. Other questions come out of disappointment and unmet expectations. It’s the questions that come from a place of pain and frustration that I find hardest to live with. Maybe you can relate. Why is my child suffering? Why did I get laid off? Why did they lie about me? Why that diagnosis? Why did they have to die?
We all deal with “whys”, but the questions that come from a place of raw emotions are different. Our emotions distort our sense of time, and it seems like we have to live with our “whys” for an eternity. In a Burger King society, we want our answers like we want our food… our way, right away. But finding answers to the painful questions takes time. Maybe that’s because those answers can’t be put into words.
In Disappointment With God, Philip Yancey wrote: “No intellectual answer will solve suffering.”
So many of our questions are found in suffering. To find those answers, cliches must die and false hopes be destroyed so we can sit in silence with the One who knows what it’s like to suffer.
Why Is There A Pool Noodle On My Car?
The short answer: It depends on who you ask.
The long answer involves a bottle of chlorine, the neighbor’s kids, and a lot of tattling. Something I learned a long time ago is that if you want the truth, you have to ask someone who knows the truth and is willing to tell you the truth.
I know this is gross, but when I was younger, I asked several of my nursing student friends if you could lose weight when you had a bad cold or allergies by getting rid of enough mucus. They just looked at me funny. It wasn’t until I asked a middle school science teacher that I learned what an open system was, and basically no, a runny nose won’t really affect your weight. The important lesson I took from that is the quality of the answer is often determined by who you ask.
I may never get a straight answer on the pool noodle, but I know that I can entrust my questions to the One who knows the truth, is the Truth, and will tell me the truth as I need to know it. Unlike Jack Nicholson yelling, “You can’t handle the truth” across a courtroom, God gently says, “I am the Truth” (John14:6). Each day He reveals a little more truth as He shapes my character and draws me to Him.
Yes, one day I’ll know all about the Nephilim and understand why God allowed Satan to influence people, but for today it’s enough to know that I need to be a better friend to a certain person whom God placed in my life, and I need to set the example for my kids on how to handle anxiety in a Godly way. Those little nuggets of truth are about as much as I can handle right now.
The Purpose of Pain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54onfyzvbRU
