God's questions are about His relationship with us (and our relationship with Him)
March 4-8, 2024 | Always Peachy Devotionals | God's Questions Week 1
God knows everything. Right?
The Bible tells us that He is omniscient, which means He knows everything. He knows what we are going to think before we think it. He knew we were going to have that specific thought before He hung the Earth in space. Nothing is impossible for Him. Nothing is unknowable for Him.
So why would He waste time asking us questions?
When I was young, I used to think that God was just sassy. I mean, He has a right to be sassy if He wants to be. (And sometimes I honestly think He is, although that’s just my opinion. So many of His prophets and leaders have had a sassy streak, it makes sense that they’d share a sense of humor.) But the older I’ve gotten and the more relationships I’ve had with people, I began to realize the value of authentic questions.
I have a degree in journalism. I was trained how to ask good questions, the ones that get to the heart of a subject, the ones that aren’t easy to answer. Because that’s where the story is. A good question isn’t an open-ended one, like a yes or a no answer. A good question forces the answerer to dig deep into their own motivation and reasoning. Good questions reveal a person’s nature, their character, and their heart.
God welcomes questions. He invites us to ask Him questions because when we question, we are seeking for what is true. We are seeking to know Him better, to understand Him, to attempt to comprehend Who He Is and why He does things the way He does them. Frankly, not questioning verges on passive faith rather than the active variety that seeks to participate in what God is doing in our lives.
So why can’t it work the other way around?
Why wouldn’t God ask us questions that strike at the heart of what we believe? He wants a relationship with us, so of course He will seek to know us better. It doesn’t matter that He already knows who we are. Being invited into conversation is part of building a relationship with someone.
Is God just sassy and rhetorical? Not at all. God doesn’t ask the questions He does throughout Scripture because He’s poking fun or irritated or sarcastic. When He questions us it’s always about our hearts and His place in our lives.
That’s what we’re going to talk about throughout this whole month, the Questions God Asks Us. There are so many more questions than the ones I’ve pulled out of the Bible, so I encourage you to do your own study. But we’re going to look at 20 questions God asks people and what we can learn about Him and about ourselves through them.
This week, we’re going to look at questions God asks that focus on our relationship with Him. At least, these five questions are ones I feel are connected to relationship. You may read them differently, and I’m always interested to hear another Bible-based interpretation.
Here’s what we’re covering this week, as well as the references in case you want to look them up yourself:
Mar 4 - Accountability: “Who told you that you were naked?” (Genesis 3:10-11)
Mar 5 - Guilt: “Where is your brother?” (Genesis 4:8-9)
Mar 6 - Control: “Why did Sarah laugh?” (Genesis 18:13-14)
Mar 7 - Peer Pressure: “Who are these men with you?” (Numbers 22:9)
Mar 8 - Faith: “Do you want to be healed?” (John 5:6)
I’m so excited to dig into these classic stories (well, and maybe one that isn’t so classic lol). If God can ask these questions of these heroes of the faith, He can absolutely ask us too. But what’s important to remember is that our answer to these questions doesn’t affect our salvation.
If you know Jesus, you are safe. If you trust that Jesus is the only way to have a relationship with God, you don’t need to DO anything else but believe. God wanted a big family, and because of what Jesus did for us, He made it possible.
So for our memory verse this week, I thought Romans 5:1 would be a good option:
This is such a powerful verse with so much to unpack, but the two key elements that are the most important to grasp are that we have peace with God (we’re made right with Him) by faith and that it’s possible because of Jesus.
Thank you, Lord, for Your salvation, Your unfailing love for us, and for Your daily presence in our lives.
I hope you guys are ready to go deep with God this month. He wants to know you as a friend, intimately, personally, authentically. So let’s answer some questions.
Hugs,
Amy
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