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I cannot imagine any of my three children having grown up without asking us parents many times “Why?” The questions came in various situations—“Why can’t I/we?” “Why did you?” “Why won’t you?” etc.

Neither can I imagine being a child of God and not asking “Our Father in Heaven” the same kinds of questions. Learning not to be afraid to ask what we think and feel whether we admit it or not is part of the maturing process. Being able to question is part of a trusting parent-child relationships even when the specific question shows some distrust in the parent’s immediate actions. 

In my previous blog, I noted some examples of the freedom biblical writers showed in asking God “How long” God is going to put up with the social and personal injustices that fill our world?

Here are a few examples of the freedom of God’s children to ask “Why?” Again, as in Job’s case, some flow from current personal suffering. Habakkuk’s why’s are more focused on social injustices while Jeremiah’s flow from both social and personal pain.

Job 21:7-10 (7-34)—“Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power?
Their offspring are established in their presence, and their descendants before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, and no rod of God is upon them.”

Job continues on noting that even when a major catastrophe occurs in the culture, it is usually the wealthy and powerful who survive pretty much unscathed as the poor suffer even more. Even though Job’s response is directed at his “comforter” friend, it is clearly a “Why” directed to God. Note that when God finally responds directly to all of Job’s questioning and brings some correction, God is still far more pleased with Job than with Job’s comforters who are telling him to quit questioning God.

Habakkuk 1:2-3, 13—“Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.
So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted . . . . You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?”

Habakkuk is disgusted with what is going on in his nation and wants to know “why” God isn’t doing something about it. Then, when God reveals that God is about to do something about it, Habakkuk is overwhelmed with the thought that God might bring judgment upon the sins of the nation at the hands of a nation that Habakkuk thought was even worse than we are. Why would God allow that?

Jeremiah 12:1-2—“Righteous are you, O Lord, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive? You plant them, and they take root; they grow and produce fruit; you are near in their mouth and far from their heart.”

Jeremiah complains because people who talk religious talk act in ways that destroy others. He also complains because his world does not look like the world Psalm 1 says should result when people put God first as Jeremiah is attempting to do.

A few other examples of poignant “why” questions appear in Ps 10:1; 22:1; 43:2; 44:23-24; 74:1, 11; 88:1; and Isaiah 63:17.

But perhaps the one that gets explained away most often, but should comfort those of us with “why” questions the most, appears in Mark 15:34—“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” Clearly this “Son of God” did not hesitate to ask “Why?”

It is true that sometimes we children of God do not like God’s answers to our “Why?” questions any better than we liked our parents’ answers to ours. And, as our parents tried to tell us, sometimes we cannot understand why until we mature a lot more or arrive at a different place in life; meanwhile, we just need to trust God. But we need not fear admitting we have the questions, nor do we need to fear openly asking them of God. They are part of the maturing relationship.

Many times in my life, I have heard Christians “encourage” others toward greater “faithfulness” with some form of the admonition: “We must not question God!” This is usually presented as an obvious standard of a strong biblical faith. I find this to be ironic on a biblical level and very non-helpful on a personal level.

First the personal. As a person who cannot help asking questions, I have never found such “encouragement” to be very encouraging. In fact, most of my spiritual growth as a follower of Jesus has come by moving through my questioning into more trust. But my personal experience can certainly be challenged as perhaps less than mature, less than faithful, weak, or idiosyncratic. I suppose it has been each of those at various times.

What should never be ignored by those of us wishing to encourage others toward a more mature biblical faithfulness is how often biblical writers expressed confrontive questions to God. In fact, they seem to see this as expressions of their trust in their relationship with God. In this blog, let’s look at one question often asked of God—“How Long?”

“How long?” was not a question hoping for an answer like “Three more years and six months.” It was a passionate “Come on God, do something, stop this mess!” Here are a few examples.

“O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save?” (Habakkuk 1:2—a plea for God to do something to straighten out the decline of the nation.)

“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?  Consider and answer me, O LORD my God!” (Psalm 13:1-2—a prayer of a trusting, but hurting, individual.)

“How long will the land mourn, and the grass of every field wither? For the wickedness of those who live in it the animals and the birds are swept away, and because people said, ‘He (God) is blind to our ways.’” (Jeremiah 12:4—complaining that people are destroying the society and the environment with no thought that God cares or will ever act.)

“They called out in a loud voice, ‘How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?’” (Revelation 6:10—faithful martyrs frustrated that God is taking so long to move history forward into God’s future kingdom of justice and righteousness.)

You could also check out Psalm 6:3; 35:17; 74:10; 79:5; 80:4; 89:46; 94:3 for other examples of the prayerful, trusting, but confrontive question to God—“How long?”

Perhaps some of us who have questions are not a completely lost cause?

Hi Friends. Hopefully, you received an initial email saying that I am finally beginning to get my Website up and running. If so, our hope (mine, and my wonderful niece who set this all up for me) is that this post will now go out from the Website itself. If that works, we are on our way! My plan then is to make a post about once a week attempting to engage us in thinking about how God relates to our real life in the real world.

First, thank you to those of you who signed up on this Website over a year ago. The year was long and difficult year for many of us. No exception here! Consequently, the Website fell by the wayside for a while. Finally, I am ready to move forward. Since this is new to me, there undoubtedly will be a trial and error period, but hopefully soon this will be in full operation without too many glitches.

I plan to post on topics from my two books that have been published during the past 18months. I also want to post on topics that are of current interest to you. If you have ideas about topics that you would like to discuss sooner rather than later, please let me know. I love thinking with sisters and brothers about how God and real life intersect.

Blessings sent your way.

Ron S