Permission to Wrestle with “Why?”
By Meg Bucher
“If I speak the truth, why don’t you believe Me?” John 8:46 (The Voice)
“Yes it is.”
“No it’s not.”
“Trust me, it is. Why would I lie about that?”
My pre-teen will mull over the most mundane moments. But it’s not to discredit my intelligence. She’s just inquisitive. Kids grow up and want to know “why.” We’re the same way with our Heavenly Father, we’re just not as bold as my kiddo is to ask out loud what weighs on our hearts.
“Because I said so,”is a parental go-to, but God’s love and compassion for us negates a passive shut down or pass-off to answer a taxing question. Raising kids can make us feel brilliant on some days, and not so smart on other days. Mine glance questionably at me on occasion, as if something in them is holding out for a bit more proof. God waits for us to ask why …so that He can answer.
This simple children’s worship song unravels our biggest parenting mistake:
“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so …”
Our children eventually begin to grow beyond assuming their parents know the answer to everything. If we’re doing it right, they start to receive apologies for lost tempers and mistaken assumptions, so they know we’re not perfect, either. Who do they turn to for unquestionable assurance? We lead them to His feet. I have to laugh, because on days when options run out and “because I told you so” isn’t working, I can’t wait to read my girls’ daily devotionals with them!
God invites us to seek Him in His Word, daily. Not so that He can whip out an “I told you so,” or “because I said so,” but to come alongside us as only He can, in encouragement and love to equip us to face a world that He knows is difficult to navigate.
“If I speak the truth, why don’t you believe Me?” John 8:46 (The Voice)
People were questioning what Jesus was teaching, probing for proof and searching for statements to justify their faith in what He was saying. But it simply didn’t work that way then, and it doesn’t work that way, now. We are allowed to wrestle with God in what we do not understand. He encourages us to seek Him in His Word, and by that allow Him to speak life into our lives. Jeremiah 29:13 assures us, “You will see me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
If we are seeking not to believe, we won’t believe, just as my daughter can choose to believe it’s 12:15am even though I’ve explained and proved to her it’s 12:15pm. An authentic and genuine questioning of the complicated matters in this life is welcomed by our loving God, who seeks a personal relationship with us. He already knows what’s happening in our lives, but He wants us to talk to Him about it. Just as a friend wants us to confide in them directly instead of learning by heresy that we’ve been suffering.
“For the word of God is alive and active.” (Hebrews 4:12a NIV) Through Jesus’ death on the cross, the power of the Holy Spirit reveals and helps us apply it directly to our everyday circumstances.
It’s the Spirit that moves in and out of the Word. 1John14:7 reminds us that “all three persons of the Trinity are linked by truth.” But we are blind to it without a Savior.
Jesus removes all of the filters.
It’s through His sacrifice, and our acceptance and pursuit of Him as our Savior, that our faith is strengthened. He knows us, and the more we get to know Him, the more we know the Father.
It’s important to be wary of what, and who we believe. Even those with good intentions, and even our own mistaken and distorted thoughts, can cause confusion and lead us astray. Our Father encourages us to ask Him.
It’s crucial to keep in touch with the Truth by reading the Truth …daily. We can trust Him, because He says so.
Father,
Praise You for truth, and for love. Thank You for leaving Your Word, and revealing it to us as we grow with Christ. Forgive us for misinterpreting and humanly misleading others, and help us to detect dishonesty and move away from it swiftly.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Related Resource: Deepen and Defend Your Faith Today
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