Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Questions Asked by God, Questions 6-10

I will question you, and you shall answer Me. Job 40:7
When God asks us questions He is not giving us an intellectual quiz. God is not trying to see how smart we are or how well we can study or cram for an exam. His questions are usually short, simple, and direct. God asks us questions, not to test our IQ, but to test our hearts, to have us examine our ways, and to bring change to our lives.
Here are 5 more questions asked by God. Even though God asked these questions to others, we can all think about how we would answer these questions if God directed them to us.
6. The Lord said to Eli, “Why do you honor your sons above Me?” 1 Samuel 2:29
We must all guard against the sin of honoring something or someone above the Lord in our lives. Anyone or anything that has first place in our lives has taken the wrong place in our hearts. We often hear the statement, “------- is my life.” The blank can be filled in by such words as “my kids” “my career” “my ministry.” Paul said, “Christ is my life.” That is the place all of us must come to if we are going to honor the Lord above all.
7. The LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask! What shall I give you?" I Kings 3:5
This question would be a challenge for any of us to answer. Solomon answered it perfectly and in a way that God could honor. We often don’t know our own hearts and what is best for us. At times, we may ask God for things that we expect He will answer “yes” to, and then become disappointed when we discover His answer is “no.” His “no” is a “no” of wisdom. It is out of His mercies for us that He does not answer every prayer with a “yes.” One day we will fully know how blessed we were when God answered certain prayers with a “no” and kept us from harm and ruin.
8. When Elijah heard it…he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" I Kings 19:13
Have you ever heard the voice of the Lord ask you this question? It is an important one for us to recognize and answer. We need to know not only that we are in God’s place for us, doing what God has asked us to do, but we also need to know we are doing His will in a manner and with a disposition that is pleasing to Him.
Linda, one of our readers to Meet Me in the Meadow, recently shared in her comment, “Yesterday at church God asked me the question, "What were you doing in the cave of doubt last week?" We may be busy with a lot of things but not being obedient to the specific thing God has asked us to do. We may be carrying a wrong attitude or have given in to a wrong emotion that has allowed us to be overcome with discouragement, doubt, or despair. As followers of the Lord we must be careful to guard our hearts and not be overcome with moping, self-pity, or “singing the blues.”
9. The Lord said to Job, "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth. Tell Me, if you have understanding?” Job 38:4
Sometimes God asks us a question to clear up our perspective and to help us see things clearly, from His point of view. It’s a good thing to step back from our own sense of importance and realize that God is God and is in control. It will take a big load off our shoulders when we stop trying to control things and people; when we stop thinking we are indispensable and that others cannot get along without us; when we acknowledge that it is only by the grace of God that we are what we are.
10.  I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us? Isaiah 6:8
This question reveals to us the heart of the Lord of the harvest who is looking for laborers to send forth into His fields of harvest. This question will go on being asked until the Gospel is preached throughout the whole earth and the Lord returns to establish His kingdom. S.D. Gordon reminds us, “God has a plan for each life. He needs us in His plan for the world…it’s the use of our lives in His great purpose in the earth. The one condition that He requires is that we follow fully, not only in our choice of right, but in our choice of His plans.”

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