Questioning God

Many years ago, in a past church I served, a couple showed up one morning who I had never met. They stayed to talk to me after worship, and I could tell they were not in a good state of mind. They were clearly anguished, and it looked as though they hadn’t slept in days. They asked me if I would come by to visit them that afternoon, and I did. 

When I sat down in their living room, they told me their son had been killed in a motorcycle accident four days earlier. And they were just feeling this tremendous anger at God…And then, this tremendous guilt at feeling that anger. This caldron of feelings. And they said I know we’re not supposed to be angry at God… 

I said, God’s big enough to handle it.  

If you’ve ever been angry with God or questioned God, actually you are in good company. We read about it in the Bible. We see it in the prophet Jeremiah. We see it throughout the Psalms. And, on the cross, Jesus prayed from Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34).

Which is interesting… Have you ever been to a church where it is not okay?

Before becoming a pastor I remember being at a church where I was made to feel I was in danger of the fires of hell, simply because I had serious questions in a Sunday morning class. The implication was, if I would just get my relationship with Jesus right, I wouldn’t have those questions. That goes along with the sister belief that if you just get your relationship with Jesus right, you’ll always be happy.

It’s just not true.

In fact, on the other side of this, many great theologians claim that this kind of struggle, struggle with doubt, with a sense of absence of God, or anger at God, this kind of struggle can very well be a sign of authentic growth, and a point of decisive development in faith… And if we take it seriously, we don’t return to where we once were. We don’t return with a naive understanding. No, we deepen

My prayer for you today is that you would come to a place where you feel open enough to express your lament, your doubt, your questions, and even your anger to God. May you trust that this kind of faith is a biblical faith. God is big enough to handle it. And in doing so, may you find your relationship with God deepen and grace resound. 

Let us pray: Loving God, we don’t understand why there are pain and suffering in the world. We’re human, flesh and blood. We cry out to you. We long for you. And we trust you. Heal us and redeem us we pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.