Questioning God

She said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You...?" (John 4:11-12)

I feel an old issue stir up here when I read these words. I remember a number of times throughout the Bible when people reacted to God's instructions or revelations by expressing doubts and asking questions. What has interested me is the contrast between how God responded to various people's questioning of His words to them.

Sometimes when people questioned God's ability to do what He says He seems to go along with them and answer their questions and try to explain Himself. Other times it appears that He gets angry with them and rebukes them for daring to question His words. This has presented a question of my own, wanting to know what causes the difference between these various situations. Many assume that maybe God is just arbitrary and that you had better not take a risk challenging anything He says, that we should just blindly obey everything irregardless. But there are also instances in the Bible when people seemed to engage in rather strenuous arguments with God and God appeared to even enjoy the tussle.

Again, our interpretation of these various encounters with God will be largely determined by our current picture of God and perceptions of how He deals with people in general. If our idea of God is someone who is very demanding and arbitrary, then these different stories will only serve to illustrate that capricious view of God. But if we are seeking to know God, to understand Him better, to make more sense as much as possible of His dealings with men so that we can relate to a rational, consistent, caring being who has our best interest in mind, then I believe that there will be both encouraging instruction and warning found in of these stories.

This is one of the stories where Jesus went along with the questioning and the final outcome proved to be very positive and inspiring. This was also the case with Mary the mother of Jesus when the angel came to tell her that she would give birth to the Son of the Highest. Other people that come to mind right away who had interesting interchanges with God in a similar fashion are Elijah and Moses and even Jonah.

Of course there are also a number of people who were strongly rebuked when they attempted to enter into dispute with God's messages to them. What I now want to understand better is the real underlying reasons behind these various exchanges so that I don't find myself trying to argue with God when it is likely to only produce problems while at the same time not being afraid to enter into a closer relationship with God by asking legitimate questions that can lead to a deeper appreciation of His wisdom and love for me.

If I live in constant fear of ever asking questions of God, then that may be a clear indicator of a distorted view of God and that my heart would not really want to get very close to Him to begin with. On the other hand, I want to be aware of my need to respect God and trust Him and know the reasons behind why there are times when I need to trust God implicitly without having all the reasons I would like to have to support that choice. I believe that God gives enough evidence to base faith on but also requires that we must take some steps in faith without having all the facts or evidence to eliminate all doubt. But there are times when He is willing and maybe even eager to enter into dialog with those who are sincere and have honest doubts that need to be addressed. He is not offended by such discussions as is illustrated by this one with the woman from Sychar.

Instead of attributing the differences of response from God to a supposed arbitrariness on His part, I firmly believe that what makes the difference is the spirit and attitude of the person raising the questions. This is the most important aspect of the relationship that determines whether God rebukes someone or whether He is eager to engage in a lengthy conversation with them. God is not capricious as Satan would make Him out to be. Neither is He arbitrary or moody or completely unpredictable. And while we will never understand God enough to be able to predict what He will do, that does not detract in the slightest from the solid truth that God is absolutely and unwaveringly worthy of all trust.

At the same time, without taking away from that truth in the slightest, because of our mental limitations there are times when God is willing to humble Himself and answer our questions to assist us in coming into deeper trust of His heart. He does not demand that just because He is always trustworthy that everyone should blindly trust Him without any questions whatsoever. God is not looking for robots to obey Him or He would not have created us the the ability to think and to choose. Robots cannot experience love and God is desirous of a relationship of real love with each one of us, not blind, unthinking obedience. So Jesus did not become incensed when this woman had doubts about His offer of living water for her. He honored her curiosity and her questions by continuing the discussion and drawing her deeper and deeper toward a place of trust and joy in seeing the real truth about God's heart for her.

By contrast, the people in the Bible who were severely rebuked for questioning God harbored a spirit of clinging to their doubts in the face of repeated evidence of God's truth and care for them. They displayed an attitude of stubborn mistrust in spite of God's dealings with them and were in grave danger of resisting truth to the point of no return. Some of them went past that point and no longer were able to repent; a few accepted the warning and pulled back from the brink.

What is very important to note about this is that it is not God who is the variable in these situations, it is always the attitude of the person involved that determines how God responds to their questions. It is actually a comfort to learn that God can be trusted in all situations and never changes even though circumstances may make it appear differently. He may relate to various people very differently depending on the context of their relationship and disposition with Him, but when it all becomes clear it will be seen that God's heart is the great constant that can always be counted on to be the source of love and truth no matter what else is involved in the situation.