Yesterday we wrote that, in our conversations with God, it is good to ask the right kinds of questions. We made the statement that ‘Why?’ questions are often not helpful, but we do need to qualify this because even a ‘Why?’ question can be helpful in our dialogue with God if it is asked with faith in our hearts. Asking ‘Why is this happening?’ as I seek understanding and insight is so different to asking ‘Why is this happening to me?’ from a place in my heart of ‘it’s not fair’. So this is why, if we can start our conversation with God with thanksgiving, we can even ask a ‘why?’ question.
We read in Hebrews that ‘Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.’ Hebrews 11:6, The rest of that chapter lists numbers of people who are remembered as people of faith, who have seen God do amazing things with, and for them, on their journey through life. They have by no means been perfect, they have made mistakes, but in the ‘Faith Hall of Fame’, they are remembered for the deliverances and miracles they have seen.
Often those deliverances and miracles occurred because those people found themselves in difficult, disappointing, or even terrifying circumstances. They were In situations where their faith had to grow beyond the circumstances in which they found themselves. No doubt many of them had questions to ask of God, even the Why? ones! We don’t know how those conversations went, but we do know that they were entered into that list of ‘Faith Heroes’, so they must have believed that God existed and that He would reward them as they sought for His help.
In our own lives we are more likely to ask questions of God when things are tough, because it is in these situations that we can feel bewildered. Thanksgiving always helps us at these times as it helps us to make that shift in our attitude from bewilderment to a place of faith. Intentionally thanking God for His love and grace helps to shift our mindset to a place of believing that the Lord is in this situation, and will be working in it for my good.
Coming to God with thanksgiving expresses my faith in God that He is wanting to guide and help me through these times, and because relationship is paramount to God I can approach Him in faith with my questions, My thanksgiving is an expression of my faith in God’s goodness and my belief that the Lord will want to answer me and to dialogue with me as He did with David. It is about knowing that He loves to give wisdom and grace to those who ask.
There are times of course when God doesn’t seem answer our questions. Maybe as He did with Job, He will have questions for us to answer first. It is important in these times that we keep our eyes on Him and stay in faith looking to God for how and in what way He is communicating with us. Our continued thanksgiving at these times will help us to discern what God is working in our lives, and will also help us to ‘hear’ what the Lord has to say back to us……. Something on which we will ponder further tomorrow.
