Questioning God
Photo by Charles Rondeau, Pixabay
I’m currently working on of a pair of companion books: a short memoir and a devotional, both entitled Questioning God. I have two aims – firstly to help believers explore how their faith can grow through facing doubt and pursuing uncomfortable questions. Secondly, to give non-believers greater insight into the experience of faith - not a one-size-fits-all constant state of certainty, but a living entity, waxing, waning, sometimes fighting for survival in a hostile environment, developing nerve and grit on the long pilgrimage of life.
In the coming months, I’ll share extracts of these companion books in their embryonic state and I welcome your feedback. Here's the first of the devotions in Questioning God: a 40-day Devotional Exploring Questions Posed in Scripture.
Did God Really Say? It’s impossible to overstate the significance of Scripture’s first recorded question. It introduces the ancient and ongoing battle between light and darkness. It exposes the aims and strategies of the forces of evil. But as Satan lays his cards on the table, does he unwittingly reveal the secret to withstanding temptation?
Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’ Genesis 3: 1
God has dealt Adam and Eve an ace hand. They have an intimate, loving relationship with their Creator and with each other and a beautiful home – all they need for life with a perfect balance of creative work, exciting leisure, including joyful sex, and endless possibilities for human endeavours of invention, exploration and adventure. There’s just one rule to observe.
Enter Satan, stage left. He deals them a card, not an ace but a king. Did God really say? In a few skilfully chosen words, he sows the seed of doubt in God’s integrity. Surely God didn’t say that? Why? What’s he hiding? After the disingenuous opener comes misrepresentation. God’s command was clear: You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely die. Genesis 2: 16, 17. Satan insinuates that God’s prohibition is far wider. The implication? God’s a killjoy, restricting your freedom; He doesn’t want what’s best for you. In a nutshell, God cannot be trusted.
To entice us into the darkness, Satan undermines our conviction that following God in the light is best for our well-being. To this day, this remains Evil’s winning strategy. Satan’s malevolence is bent on subverting God’s integrity to dethrone Him. But when we see through this deception and counter it with God’s truth, as Jesus did when he was tempted, we champion God’s integrity and enthrone Him. At the heart of the universe is the reality of God. At the heart of faith is the integrity of God. I believe that one aspect of championing God’s integrity is not to suppress our questions but bring them to Him.
Questions to ponder:
Did God really say? If you were Satan, what subtle twist of truth about God would be most effective at undermining your faith today?
And if you were God, how would you counter these half-truths to reassure you that His eternal qualities are everything you need to rely on and flourish?
