Asking Questions

Asking Questions

I was never one to raise my hand in class to ask a lot of questions. I don't remember being shy and I don't remember being so smart that I understood all my lessons either. But as a student of Jesus Christ, I ask my Teacher a lot of questions! As I read the book of Habakkuk I find that he asked some questions we may be familiar with. In Habakkuk 1: 1-2 we read his questions. As he sees all the sin and trouble around him his first question is, "How long?" and the second is, "Why?" In my times of trouble my hand quickly raises and these two questions are first and foremost in my mind. Usually the "why?" is first and the "how long?" is second. Even if I don't find out why I just want to know how long it will be! Is this a quick lesson or this going to be a long, drawn out process?

How about you? Do you find that you are too shy, too scared or too proud to ask God questions? As I read the Bible I see many godly people who dared to ask these questions and more. Moses, David, Hagar, and Hannah all prayed boldly and honestly. They were unafraid to approach God with their questions. Habakkuk's name means "to embrace" but more literally it means "wrestler." It is okay to wrestle with God and ask Him questions. This may seem irreverent to you. Believe me, I am not asking you to go shake a fist at God nor can you go to God and blame Him for your circumstance. But even with our hurt and our emotions pouring out we can approach God and ask Him "Why?" and "How long?" He is not offended. The key is that when we wrestle we know up front who is going to win the match. Our hearts must know and trust that God is sovereign and in control of all that we see happening around us. We must be prepared to know that God doesn't owe us an answer. Why bother asking then? Because even in our asking we are drawing close to Him and He promises to draw close to us.

"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16

Would you bring your questions boldly and honestly to your Lord and Savior? He knows you. He welcomes you. He is waiting for you to ask.-- Kathy Withers is on staff full-time at the Keswick Book and Gift Shop. She is married to her husband, Dave, and has two adult children. Kathy is active in her local church. Her passion is the Word of God and encouraging women to dig deeper into the truths of the Bible.