Belief System

QUESTION: Belief system - Do we ask God why?

ANSWER:

A belief system that rests on faith would appear to leave little room for questions such as, "why?" God is, after all, perfectly holy and all knowing; how then, may we question God? However, when the Lord has promised to open the floodgates of heaven and we see hardships, does this not demand our inquiry?

There is nothing inherently wrong with asking questions. Anselm of Canterbury once used a phrase, "fides quaerens intellectum" which translates to, "faith seeking understanding." One can only seek to grow in understanding by questioning. The problem lies with the manner and attitude in which we question God. The exercise can become sinful, although merely asking God 'why' is not sinful. The Bible has many examples of godly men questioning God.

John the Baptist once had his disciples question Jesus to determine if He was the Messiah. For John the Baptist finding Jesus and radically redefining his belief system for the better began with questioning God.

The book of Job pertains to questioning God. In Job 38:2, God responds to Job's inquiry into God's actions by saying, "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?" God then goes on to pose a questions to Job, to bolster the superiority of His wisdom to Job's limited understanding. We frequently take an arrogant position in assuming our knowledge is somehow a fraction of God's infinite knowledge. We must habitually humble ourselves, or else our God will do it for us.

God revealed His wisdom to Job after Job questioned Him, and Job responded, "I am unworthy-how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer-twice, but I will say no more" (Job 40:3-5). Again in Job 42:3, ". . .Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know." King David questioned God during times of hardship. "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?" (Psalms 22:1)

Honestly seeking answers is the beginning of wisdom. Struggling with these questions strengthens our belief system. It is by finding answers that our understanding grows. We must also keep in mind that we must not elevate ourselves to godhood and we must keep a pure heart. As long as we remain humble and keep a pure heart, there is nothing inherently wrong with questioning our belief system, it is the tunnel to blessed assurance.