When We Question God!

And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” Exodus 3:9-13 NIV

When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.” Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.” And the LORD said, “I will wait until you return.” Judges 6:12-18 NIV

Throughout the course of history, whenever a person needed clarity from God, they asked questions and since God wants us to conduct ourselves with wisdom–He gives us clarity–so we’ll understand and not be misled or mislead.

Of course, we could go back even further to see Abraham bargaining with God and how God allowed Abraham barter with Him. When we have a right relationship with God, we can talk to God and question Him because He wants us to understand.

Moses had a heart open to hear God and wanted to please Him, but when he didn’t understand why God was using him, he questioned Him and God responded.

When Gideon didn’t understand how he was to do what the angel of the Lord was saying to him, he questioned Him.

The Word tells us the testimony of two witnesses is true. I always look for confirmation in God’s Word of anything He tells me do and usually after I’ve questioned Him–seeking understanding. For The Word also tells–in all of our getting–get understanding.

So when things happen and we don’t understand them, we have a right to question God and He will respond as a loving Father responds. God doesn’t want us wandering around in circles–not understanding the direction He wants us to take.

I remember when He told me I was to teach His Word. He woke me at 3:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning and we argued or rather I argued, He laughed at me, for three hours. I didn’t understand why God would use me and in fact–told Him, He had the wrong house. I even tried telling Him about my past and how He couldn’t possibly want me. And when I did that, I heard Him say, “Like I wasn’t there with you.” That did it for me. Because I’ve always known that God is always with me, but I couldn’t fathom why He wanted me to teach His Word. I stopped arguing, but I did say, “If you want me to teach Your Word, then You’ll have to teach me.”

Now, I had read the bible–in its entirely–just three months before I had this conversation with God–out of boredom or so I thought. I now know He was preparing me. And in the course of preparation, He led me every step of the way, getting clarity and understanding about what He wanted me to do.

That was over twenty-five years ago and I’m still teaching His Word and still questioning Him when I need clarity of anything. This one thing I know–He loves me and would never lead me astray. At times, when I hesitate to be quickly obedient it is because I am waiting for confirmation and when I get it–I act.

I believe The Word–Some may trust in horses. Some may trust in chariots. But I will trust in The Lord and when I don’t understand something, I will question Him.

Looking around the world at all the events that are taking place–the earthquakes, the floods, the violence, and hatred--I shake my head in wonder and question Him–Why, Lord, why?  And He answers.

I don’t have to like His answer, but when He speaks, I know it is Him and another–man or spirit trying to mislead me–I will not follow. When we have a right relationship with God–child to Father–He treats like us His children and responds as a loving Father, not a taskmaster.

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Dear Mr. President!

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. Romans 1:20, 32 NIV

As I prayed last night, I couldn’t help but feel the urge by Holy Spirit to address our nation’s situation with regard to legalizing sin. Therefore, I write this as an open letter to our president.

President Obama:

You have managed to accomplish much–even with an obstructionist Congress–and everything encompassed with your terms in office will be interred in history books. Some things for the good and some–a very slap in God’s face.

I am not your judge and certainly not your jury, but your actions have demonstrated for many that though you may “know about God” you do not know Him. For to “know Him is to know His Word” and legalizing sin reveals lack of knowledge or “ignorance” as you stated in your address to college graduates on yesterday–about His Word. Of course, that ignorance lies in not knowing what you’re talking about–as you clearly explained and regarding your position on same-sex marriage–you clearly do not know what you’re talking about. I understand you “think” people should be able to love anyone they want to love, but loving is not just about lust and it is the lust of the flesh that has instigated the misguided notion by the LGBT community in their pursuits.

Let me be clear. We are told in God’s Word to love all–unconditionally–but that love–is not a reference to pacifying a sexual need. I could spend an entire day writing about this, but if your heart is not in a position to receive from God, what I say won’t matter. We are also told in The Word that marriage is between a man and a woman–for God’s purposes, not our own. Since the enemy loves to hate what God loves, he has confused the minds of many into believing that God doesn’t have a problem with sin–when He does.

In the interest of being politically correct and gaining the support of the LGBT community, you have allowed the Pandora’s Box of “self-destruction” to spill over into a society that is demoralizing and rotting. The “anything goes” concept to living is wreaking havoc in the minds of children who are further confused by the notion that God makes mistakes--with their biological genders–and they have a right to change and expect the rest of us to simply accept their fickleness and confusion. God doesn’t make mistakes, human beings make mistakes.

Your positions regarding the above-mentioned issues–becomes even more injurious to those who hold fast to their relationship with God when their rights are violated when they won’t obey the laws of the land that are contrary to God’s Word.

Before I ever knew who you were, God had inspired me to write two books pertaining to the end result of what has now occurred. I didn’t understand why He wanted me to write the books, but I wrote them. Now, I understand. I’m sure you won’t take the time to read them, but I’ll provide you with the links anyway and the link for the one that was written after the Supreme Court decision to rebel against God. Those books are myBook.to/Normal, myBook.to/TurningForce and myBook.to/WhatJesusSaid. It’s Not Normal and Turning Force were written a number of years ago, but are prophetic in nature as we can clearly see how events have unfolded. To tell people what Jesus said about “loving others” without understanding why He said anything is promoting lies. And we know that God hates liars, which is why I wrote, What Jesus Said and Why He Said It.

In the beginning, I had a great deal of respect for you and your accomplishment in being the first Black president. Now, I pray that someone will be able to water The Word in your life and eventually, you’ll hear from God and ignore the tricks of the enemy. I cannot imagine how you would feel if one of your daughters was molested in a bathroom by a “pretender” who claimed to be “feeling like a woman” in order to gain access to their prey. Bullying school districts to put kids in danger is not what someone who knows God would do. And your decree about the bathrooms is a bullying tactic when you threaten to withhold federal funding from those districts.

I, like so many others, are wondering if common sense will ever make a comeback in the minds of those who lead others. So far, we have not seen much evidence of that.

Just so you know–I do not hate anyone–not those who choose to be gay or transgender–I love them enough to pray for them, but I also love God and with all I do and write, I try to please Him, more than man. That’s what He has called me to do–please Him. Sometimes, pleasing God means people get angry with me and I can handle that. They don’t have a heaven or hell for me so their opinions don’t matter much. What does matter to me is my obedience–to teach God’s Word whether it’s convenient or not, whether it’s received or not. He won’t hold me accountable for what others do or don’t do, but He will hold me accountable for what I do or don’t do. All I can do is to say what He says.

We–at least some of us–as a nation will continue to pray for our country and all who lead it–that hearts will be receptive to hearing God and they will exercise Godly wisdom in all they do.

Sincerely,

Mary M. Hall-Rayford