On Questions & Confusion-Lent 28, 2015

John 16:17 Some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

It is so easy on our side of the Cross to forget how confusing all of this was for the disciples. 

They didn’t have the benefit of knowing what we know.  Instead they were living it.  They were in the middle of the stream, afflicted by the currents whereas we have an aerial view.  They were at a crossroad of questions and confusion.

Have you ever been there?

In the thick of circumstances you find totally overwhelming?

Not knowing which way is up, which way is forward, and how to keep your head above water?

Where do you turn when things like this happen?

I’ve been known to rail against God.  To be angry with Him and His plan.  To question what He’s doing with me.  To think He’s being kind of mean–especially given how hard I try to follow Him.  I get tired of being nice.  I get tired of praying for the same thing over and over and not seeing “results.”  It’s not as if I’m asking Him for anything other than some understanding!  I find being cheerful and encouraging to be exhausting work much of the time.  Sometimes, in my frustration, I ask a billion questions and yell up at God (as if His presence in my heart cannot hear me in my silence and tears).

But God is patient with me.  For that I am grateful.  He forgives my outbursts because He knows I do truly love Him.  I am just too human to be able to understand.

Where do we turn when we have more questions and confusion than answers and confidence?

The Word.  It always tells us what is true.  Even if it doesn’t feel true, it is.  Because God says it is.  The disciples With Christ in the Upper Room are in a place like that.  They will turn to Jesus who will tell them that Abba said there’d be days like this.

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Give it Up for Lent:  Unbelief

Put it On for Lent: Patience

For further thought:

• Can you think of a time you were angry with God?  Did you feel guilty about it?  How did you resolve it?
• Are you still angry with God?  How can you resolve it?
• Do you find being Christian in your daily life to be hard work?  What types of things can you do to let His Word apply to your struggles?

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