Recently, in a short devotional at the beginning of a meeting, a young believer stated that her pastor tells them that they shouldn't question God. Because there are language issues, and I didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, I let the comment go. But it disturbed me because it simply isn't true. The Bible is full of people who asked God "why?" and"when?" and who complained about their circumstances. In Jeremiah 12:1, the prophet gives voice to a question that has persisted in human hearts throuout the ages: why is evil allowed to continue? Moses complaines for himself in Numbers 11, asking "Why have you dealt ill with your servant?" David, in a season of feeling God's apparent absence, rather than his presence, asked "Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" (Psalm 10:1). And, of course, Christ himself, from the cross cried out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
In many biblical instances of questioning, God himself answers directly, such as in Job or Habakkuk. Other times, such as in the Psalms of Lament, the questioner, through his questioning, is reminded of the character of God and ends his lament with praise. Psalm 88 is the other way around. Heman (the author) begins with a statement of God's saving nature. He then continues, unloading his frustrations on God, "Why, Lord do you reject me and hide your face from me?" and ends in sadness. There is profound humanness, real truth in this lament. Sometimes there aren't any answers when God seems far away.
Foster's counsel in this section "The Prayer of Complaint" and the remainder of the chapter is thus:
- it is ok to complain to God (but remember HE is God);
- keep doing what you know is right - praying, reading, being in fellowship - in this way you keep longing for God's presence;
- wait - silently, patiently, trusting that God is at work.
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