The Question About Questions

Have you ever found yourself asking God, “Why are You allowing this to happen?” I have, and I’ve also learned that I’m not alone. Many throughout the Bible have asked this question, and yet God always seems to direct us back to the same answer.

It was a crisp fall morning as I sat reading a book that had been referenced in a sermon I heard at the Feast of Tabernacles. I found myself struggling to come to grips with the cacophony of emotions stirring within me over the horrific treatment of the precious Romanian orphans I was reading about.

The book was called Do Robins Cough? The author, Beverly Peberdy, told about the terrible conditions she found in the orphanages in the early 1990s, shortly after the fall of communism. She told how the children were left in their beds alone day and night, sometimes in their own waste. They weren’t held, talked to or loved.

Question after question flooded my mind. How could people be so cruel? How could God allow this to happen? The questions continued; and almost as fast as they came, they stopped. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) was the familiar verse that came to mind.

Not alone

Is it always that simple? I know it wasn’t for me that day. Even after I recalled that scripture, I continued to ask, “But why did You allow this to happen?” Have you ever found yourself questioning God this way?

Many great people in the Bible, such as Job and Habakkuk, also questioned and cried out to God asking why He allowed the innocent to suffer and evil to prevail.

The answer each time was essentially the same: Be still, and know that I am God.

Is it wrong to question God?

When I stopped and pondered this all-too-familiar question, my initial response was, “Of course not! Questioning is how we learn.” But as I continued to delve deeper into my search for the answer, I found myself humbled once again. My question was answered with another question: What’s really important to God? Is it the question that I am asking Him, or is it my heart and the attitude behind the question that God is looking at?

Christ tells us that He is concerned with our inward thoughts and heart. King David questioned God sincerely, yet he is listed as one after God’s own heart. But what about King Saul? He questioned God selfishly and his questions went unanswered. So, is it really the question, or is it the attitude? And do we need to remember to keep God’s plan in perspective as well?

The plan

Through the many examples given in the Bible, we see how God reminds us to have faith that He is in control and does have a plan. That can be difficult sometimes when we don’t understand why something is happening. I know it was for me when reading about the tragic stories of the Romanian orphans.

Christ does understand the struggle we can face with this and continually reminds us that He will not forget us or any of the “little ones.” I know there are times when I feel almost forgotten. That’s when I turn to one of my favorite “reminder scriptures”:

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

Yes, Lord

I have learned to take great comfort in the examples of these great men, who struggled with questioning God as I have, and in His words to them. Thankfully He has revealed the comforting overview of His loving plan. But I’ve also learned that sometimes understanding exactly how the plan will come together is just not for us to know at this time. As hard as that can be, we have to just say, “Yes, Lord.”

Whenever I get to the point where I struggle with “questioning” God, I go back to Jeremiah and remember how God lovingly reminded all of us that He would work out His great plan for all. For He does know the thoughts of peace He has for our future, as well as the future of those brokenhearted people we will have the awesome opportunity to help comfort and teach in the Kingdom of God.

For more study of why God allows suffering, see our new FAQ “Why Does God Allow Evil and Suffering?” And read more about God’s awesome plan in The Mystery of the Kingdom.

Kathleen Giza is a legal assistant who attends the Houston, Texas, congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association. She is praying fervently for God’s Kingdom to come for the sake of those Romanian orphans and all who are suffering.