Three Hard Questions We Can Ask God

Three Hard Questions We Can Ask God

Some questions are easy. My children ask me things like, “What is for dinner?” Or “Can I have some more screen time?” Those are normal, everyday questions. As I think about my relationship with my children, I can’t help but also think about my relationship with God. I expect my children to ask me questions, but I hesitate to ask God questions. When I read through Psalm 13 recently I found three hard questions we can ask God. 

Although we might shy away from voicing these doubts or questions, the Bible is filled with people coming to God with their questions. The entire book of Job, for example, is filled with Job’s questions for God. Psalms is also a great place to read when we have doubts, especially Psalm 13.

You can read Psalm 13 here.

Will You Forget Me Forever? 

The psalmist, David, comes to God and asks: “Will you forget me forever?” He is asking if God will continue to “abandon” him. Wow. This seems silly if we think rationally in our heads. We might be tempted to tell David: “Of course God has never abandoned you!” We might even quote to David Hebrew 13:5b, “God will never leave you nor forsake you.” 

But David knows God has not left him. It is just that David feels like God has forgotten him. Questions sometimes arise from our feelings, and that’s ok. In some Christian circles feelings are shunned, ignored and even demonized. Some people believe that emotions have no place in our hearts if we apply rational truth.

Psalm 13 contradicts this idea. David felt abandoned by God and voiced it! David of course knew he wasn’t left by God because Psalm 13 is a prayer directed toward God. David is just voicing to God: “It feels like you’ve left me!!” 

If you have ever felt like God has left you, tell Him. You can cry out to Him and ask Him, “Will you forget me forever?” Tears might flow, and that’s ok. 

How Long Will You Hide Your Face? 

In the Old Testament God’s “face” represented His blessings and a favorable relationship with God. David, although God’s anointed king, suffered many hardships in his life. David had to run and hide for many years before he became king. In his old age, he also had to endure rebellion from within his own house as his sons tried to overthrow him. 

Although we don’t know when David wrote Psalm 13, we see that it was during a time of hardship and he expresses what we naturally feel. If you have faced disease, death, and grief you might also relate to David’s prayer. It might feel like God has turned his back on you. Have your prayers for healing and relief been unanswered? 

Take your hurt to God. Offer a prayer to God and pour this pain out to Him. Tell Him how you feel. If you feel like God isn’t looking at you or has left you to fend for yourself, tell Him. He can handle our doubts and fears. 

How Long Will I Have to Suffer? 

As David moves through his desperate prayer to God, we see a third question: “How long will this last?” Suffering often feels like it will go on and on with no end. Maybe David had resigned himself that this life of sorrow is what God has for him. But David also wants to know how long it will last and is probably lamenting that it seems like this is going to last forever. 

Isn’t that how our sorrows feel as well? The good days go by in a rush and the hard days linger and drag on. I don’t know about you, but not knowing how long some suffering will last makes it harder. If we knew we only had to suffer for a few days, weeks, or even months it might make the sorrow less. It is when it has no end that we begin to feel hopeless. Take that feeling to God, even if you might not get an answer. There is often a peace that comes from just voicing the frustration and pain to Him. God can handle it. 

Do you notice a theme here? David asks God these questions. He does not run to his friends or just lash out to those around him but runs to God. The author of Psalm 13 pours out all of these sorrows because God can handle it! God is not afraid of your questions or put off by them. Psalm 13 reminds us that we can come to Him and Him alone with those desperate prayers because in the end, God will make things right.

At the end of Psalm 13 David says, “I will sing to the Lord…” How does David get from lamenting his sorrow to singing? Listen to episode 13 on the podcast to find out.