We are not very good at this spiritual stuff, but we sure think we are at first. We think we know what it means to have joy and peace as long as everything's going great, but as soon as things take a turn for the worse, we're no less
confused and upset as any pagan. And even less than that, sometimes when things just don't go as we planned, we find ourselves confused and upset. In fact, I'd dare to say that a lot of christians are
more confused and upset than other people because once our little God-bubble has been burst, it brings into question some things we thought we could take for granted.
"Wait, you mean God's will isn't exactly what we were planning on?"
It's very likely. Are you God? Are you above Him so that your plans will thereby be His? If you think so, seek professional help. Most of us, myself included at times,
breeze through life doing what we please and giving little regard to God except on Sunday and perhaps various other pockets of worship. But
James 4 warns "As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil."
"Ok, but I already plan my life through prayer and whatnot, but things still turned out badly. It hurt a lot! Where's this supposed goodness God has? What happened to the joy I felt?"
Are you sure it was joy and not just happiness? This is what I mean by us not being good at this spiritual stuff. Unfortunately, the sin of Adam, which we're all troubled by, has dimmed our spiritual eyes. Not only are we
myopic when it comes to seeking God, but we often totally disregard the presence of the unfriendly spirits who would rather we turn our heads away completely. Yeah, that's how some of those weird, sick ideas get in there, even if you did leave the door open.
I will admit that joy and the "peace which passes all understanding" are somewhat elusive, especially in our world today; I'm not really any better at this stuff than you are, remember. But before you start beating your head against the wall, wondering why you never have the tranquility Jesus Christ promised, let's take a look at
Psalm 22 first.
Just read the first bloody line! "My God, My God, why have you forasaken me?" This was the "man after [God's] own heart" saying this. Why would a guy so close to the Almighty be asking where He went? The whole first half of the psalm is David's diatribe about how much he's suffering and
isn't being saved. But it gets better than that. The same words from that first line were quoted by Jesus himself as he hung on the cross and bore the punishment for all our sins.
Now there's a curious thing! The Son of God, God Himself, wondering where God went. Didn't he already know what was going on? Perhaps the burden he carried drove him to temporary madness of a sort. My guess is that in the back of his head he knew, but his distress was so great that it seemed the only fitting thing to say. None of us have ever
really been separated from God, no matter how bad it's been here, so we can't compare.
Still, both of these men knew that God is
everywhere, so why'd they ask? I would venture to guess that they weren't
doubting Omnipresence, but
questioning what God was up to. There's an important difference between doubting and questioning. Doubt is a refusal to
believe and it's not looked upon favorably in Scripture. Questioning means you don't know, but you'd like to. It expresses a humble willingness to learn.
Imagine being in a math class. (Oh, just do it,you'll survive.) The teacher is rambling on about parameterizing surface differentials in
spherical coordinates, and you're just not getting it. Now you don't doubt that what the teacher is saying is true (if he's qualified), but you'd like some help wrapping your mind around it, so you raise your hand and ask, and the teacher, who's a pretty nice guy, is happy to help you out. Congratulations you've just questioned something without doubting it. It's easy, see?
Fortunately, God's a pretty nice guy too and He lets us ask Him questions in like manner--innumerable questions if need be!--to get a better understanding of what He's doing or wants from us. And it's a darn good thing, too. Even with our spiritual glasses on we often haven't the faintest idea of what it means to have joy and peace. It would be like asking me, the bachelor who prefers the meal-in-a-bag from safeway, to prepare
Duck á l'Orange by dropping off the ingredients at my house and saying "Go for it, bucko!" You're not gonna like what you see, or taste, or probably smell, too, because not only did you leave me without a recipie, I don't have the necessary cooking apparati with which to make said gourmet dish. While we're stuck here in this ball of dirt, we are in much the same condition spiritually, only we have a bit more to work with. We have the tools, but they're awful rusty from disuse.
So when you're wonding why your world's
spinning backwards and upside-down, feel free to raise your hand and say "Hey, hey God? Yeah. Umm, a little help here!" and he will be happy to oblige. Too many of us don't ask either because we don't think He'll answer, or we're afraid of what He might say. Heaven forfend we should have to experience
PAIN, that highest evil according to all the humanists. Well they're full of crap. Besides, fear
cripples. That's not meant in bad taste, but to get you to think about what it really means.
Anyway, question God all you want, but be careful not to move into the sphere of doubt, for then you tread on dangerous ground. But He's always patient, always willing to teach, always waiting for you to ask Him. As long as you're willing to be humble and learn, He'll always answer you.
And at least He's not trying to make Duck á l'Orange out of your soul.
