Many names of God in the Old Testament describe His attributes. In fact the name of God is deemed so sacred that the observant Jews do not pronounce His name…..they only call God by his attributes….such as Ha Shem, Adoni, Holy One etc. Jesus called God Father, as do we, since we have become his “adopted” children. We now can come before Him with our requests. We feel free to ask Him for favors as well as admitting our sinfulness.
There is no limit to what we are allowed to say to God. Jeremiah opens up his heart to God and is not afraid to put forward before God his most intimate thoughts about his mission. It reminds us in many ways of Moses’ lament in the wilderness about the difficulties of dealing with a “stiff-necked people”. (Ex 34:9)
This short prayer tells us a lot about how to be daring when talking with God. The prophet starts off with a statement of acknowledging God’s righteousness: “You will be in the right, O Lord”….granted, the Lord can’t be wrong…. yet the prophet will dare to raise questions to God….. “But, let me put my case to you.” So this matter is extremely serious.
Righteous are you, O Lord, when I complain to you;
yet I would plead my case before you.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
In fact this is a type of lament……”why oh Lord do you allow this?” He asks radical questions of God. David also posed laments and complaints to God such as in Psalm 10. “Why standest thou afar off, O Jehovah? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?”
We also can come before the Lord, pleading our case. We live in a world where Satan appears to have the upper hand. The “treacherous” seem to thrive. We have sickness and sadness around us…..a friend with cancer; broken marriage vows; kids on drugs.
But in our honesty with God, we often question Him……Why?? Suffering always raises questions, “How long, Lord will you allow this?” In other words, is there any hope…. any future?
Yes, you can question God. We are all seeking answers. He will answer. He will give us the hope that we long for.
When I have questions about God’s ways, do I trust that God can hear them?
AbideLines 