God Invites Our Questions
Good morning Immanuel. Our questions don't show the absence of faith but the presence of faith.
“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42:2)
This is the first of seven questions in Psalm 42. Seven questions in just eleven verses. What’s the significance of this ratio? Well, if you’ve walked with anyone through tremendous suffering, then you know the significance of this ratio. Suffering brings with it a set of questions—why questions; when questions; where questions; how questions; so many questions! And God welcomes them all.
In his commentary on the book of Job, Eric Ortlund, a magnificent Old Testament Professor at Oak Hill Seminary in London, grapples with the fact that when Job’s life falls to ruin, Job not only wishes to die but curses the day he was born. And Eric makes this brilliant observation, “Job would not curse so terribly if he did not value God so deeply.” Do you see the thread that Eric is pulling here? It’s the same thread that runs through our text. There are seven questions in just eleven verses, not because the psalmist doesn’t trust God. There are seven questions in just eleven verses because the Psalmist believes God so deeply! We don’t question a God we don’t believe in. What would be the point?
And that’s why God is not asking us to bottle up our questions. God is inviting our questions. More than that, God is giving us the questions to ask. Like this one, “When shall I come and appear before God?” In other words, “When will I finally get relief from the living water of your presence? Dear friends, when we discover in ourselves questions for God, we’re not discovering the absence of faith. We’re discovering the presence of faith!
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