A Question of Love ~ Valerie Ronald

 

“Why do you argue when all I want to do is bless you?”

The question dropped into my mind fully formed, almost audible. After years of struggling against a flood of numerous personal crises, the tide had turned, bringing resolution and happier prospects. The let-up of relentless negative pressure felt strange, causing me to doubt the possibility of better days to come. So I argued with God. Can this truly be your will? Am I to marry this man and start a whole new life or is it just my own desires taking over? Then He asked me the question above, which changed everything. I quit arguing and answered yes to His overflowing blessings.

The questions of God have a way of making those He queries look at their situation in a different way. God doesn’t pose questions to find out the answers. He is omniscient, all-knowing, the One who looks into the heart and sees the end from the beginning. His questions are always succinct, probing and worded to get us to examine ourselves and our present thought process.

The first question asked by God in His Word is still relevant to us now. Our reply to this question determines our present journey and our eventual destiny. Adam, a man previously free and unashamed before God, disobeys His command then goes into hiding. But God does not abandon Adam in his sin. He comes near, walking in the garden in the cool of the day, calling to him, “Where are you?” (Gen. 3:9 NIV) God knows exactly where Adam is, physically and spiritually. He asks this question because Adam needs to see himself where he is. God’s question makes him realize he is hiding in shame ˗˗ avoiding God for fear of punishment ˗˗ making excuses. Thus man’s first conscious awareness of guilt is exposed in the revealing light of God’s query.

If He asked you the same question, where are you?, how would you answer God? The answers could be numerous but there are only two that really count. If you answer, “I am far away from You, not even sure You exist,” then remember how God walked in the garden to draw near to a man whose sin distanced him from perfect love, and know He provides a way through the sacrificial death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus, to bring you close. If you answer, “I am here, Lord, close to your side as your beloved child, but You know how easily I wander away,” then remember He will never leave you or forsake you. No matter how fickle your heart is or how easily your eyes stray from His face, He never loses sight of one He calls His own.

Perhaps God is querying you about your writing. Do you enjoy getting lost in your own fictional world? Are you writing for recognition, to see your name on a book cover or a blog post? Or are you truly doing this out of love for others and a desire to see them grow in their walk with God?

Think about another significant question God asked, which turned the trajectory of Moses’ life in a new direction. Previous to his encounter with God in the burning bush (Exodus 3), Moses lived in isolation, tending sheep in the desert. Now God was calling him to lead the captive Israelites out of Egypt. But first He asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?” Moses held a long wooden staff, his most essential tool for herding and protecting his sheep. This staff becomes an instrument used by God to achieve His purposes through Moses.

Not only is God asking, where are you?, He also queries us specifically as writers, “what is that in your hand?” What we hold in our hand is our gifting, ability, aptitude and desire to write. Your writing craft is the tool God wants you to use to speak the truth in love. (Eph. 4:15)

God asks questions to help us see ourselves in light of where we are in relation to Him. Self-examination can be painful but when done in the light of God’s redeeming love, it reveals areas of our life needing a touch from Him. We don’t have to find the answers alone, for He walks with us through the process, providing guidance in His Word and by His Spirit. God already has an answer for His own question. He just wants you to search and find it for yourself.

 

Valerie Ronald writes from an old roll top desk in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, with her tortoiseshell cat for a muse. A graduate of Langara College School of Journalism, she writes devotionals, fiction and inspirational prose. Her purpose in writing is to encourage others to grow in their spiritual walk.