Saturday 6 October 2012

A Letter to God


Dear God,

                  What is my purpose for being created and what is my purpose for existing?  Sometimes I feel OK, just OK, and other times I feel lousy and rotten; sometimes I know why, and other times I don’t know why.  Some days are good; they pass pleasantly and I feel good.  Other days are bad and they pass slowly, and I am really enduring them.

 

If you are a good God, why do you allow suffering?  What is the purpose of suffering?  Does it refine human beings to fulfil their potential, or does it focus people on you and your omnipotence?  Is suffering merely the result of a fallen and sinful world, and a fallen Creation?  What should we do when we suffer?  Cry out in despair?  Grit our teeth and bare it, or turn our faces to you?

 

How can we love our enemies, O Lord, when sometimes we have a problem with our families and friends?  Should we really turn the other cheek when someone strikes, or more likely when someone says something nasty or unpleasant about us?  Doesn’t this make us seem weak, when we want to be strong?  How does a city boy growing up around all kinds of macho men really turn the other cheek anyway?  It’s easy, Lord, to say something after all but not so easy to do it.

 

Why Lord when there is abundance of resources of every kind in the world do so many people go without, even to the point of being half starved and living ever in want?  What is your answer to such harsh realities?  Why do bad people prosper, and good and decent people go to the wall?  Why in this world do the seeming wicked and unjust thrive, whilst people who try with all their hearts to live as you command them, suffer all kinds of distress and calumnies, and live in often reduced circumstances of some kind?  What is your purpose for those who bend their ears to your discipline, Lord?

 

Is it religious robots you want O Lord, people just fulfilling rituals blindly, not knowing why, or do you want individuals who choose you from their hearts, doing right and knowing why they do right?  Are you to be found in churches, or cathedrals O Lord, or is the vast universe itself too small to contain you? 

 

What is the purpose for Creation, O Lord, and why did you create everything anyway?  Were we created for a purpose, and if so what is that purpose?  Isn’t one of our purposes just to be happy and content and being grateful for all the good things you created?

 

When we lose sight of you and we really despair, what are we meant to do; hang onto your words and just be obedient, or what?  I know you forgive sins Lord, but even so why do I feel so much guilt at the multitude of sins I committed not so long ago?  When will I feel pure and when will you forgive my sins Lord? 

 

Lord, you punish wickedness, but what about all those people not particularly wicked just getting on with their lives; what about them?

 

Lord, some people are straightforward, they can do something all their lives, they never question, they fit in and do what they’re told.  What about those who don’t seem to fit in, the square pegs in round holes, the quiet, the mysterious, those who want to walk solitary and alone on hilltops, those who think, those who question everything, those who are not satisfied; what about us?

 

Lord, if we question, if we ask you things that are not easy to understand or fathom out, if we are annoying in our inquisitive and questioning nature, aren’t these characteristics in us placed there by you after all?  Do we have that spark of God in us, that means we know what is right, even though time and time again we don’t do it?  Why, when we know what is right and just, do we struggle even just to live half-decent lives?  Is this our lot Lord, to live half-lives, always in the shadows, not knowing when things will get better, but hoping day after day that they will?

 

If you are a God who loves goodness and mercy O Lord, why is the world filled with suffering and hurting people, why are there so many bad things in the world, and why does evil often triumph over simple good?  Why do the greedy and selfish prosper, and the good and the kind vanish like early morning mist?  What is your answer O Lord?

 

Lord, if you are the Creator of everyone and everything, why did you pick a particular tribe to be your people?  Why do you pick some and not others?  Why me, O Lord?

 

Yours,

 
A Christian.

10 comments:

  1. I think that we all have these questions in our hearts. God has created us to ask questions that only He can answer. But if He is God and if we are believing the truth, these questions should naturally arise. The moment we believe we understand God, we need to start all over again because we don't. The wonderful thing is He tells us a lot of great things in His Word. He calls us to look ahead to eternity. He calls us to hope. God is writing a beautiful story and we, like Him, need to step back and survey the macro scale.

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    1. Yes Stanley, I certainly have many questions I want and need to ask God, and often all the time. In the past, religion was about putting up and shutting up, you sat in your little pew, you sang your hymns, you listened to the Vicar waffle on for an hour or two, and everyone pretended to be satisfied and went home and fell asleep probably! These days, the vast majority of people won't put up with a religion dominated by hierarchies and won't be soft-soaped into being told any old rubbish and having to accept that; we al have questions and I think it is far healthier sometimes to get them off our chest.

      You wrote: 'The moment we believe we understand God, we need to start all over again because we don't.' No we can't really fully comprehend God, but we can understand that His character is good and He is perfect and He never lets us down or wants to see us suffer, even when in life we feel let down and we do suffer at times. Thanks for the post Stan.

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  2. Hi Tim,
    I believe that because you are asking God these questions sincerely then HE will answer them. You may not have all the answers at once, and sometimes we find the answers in our sufferings, but if you are seeking and reading His word you WILL have answers, I know this by my own experiences. The Bible tells us, and it is very obvious, that this world is in great darkness. There is a time for it to end and just as there was an ark in Noah's time, there is a refuge in these times. It is Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ only. I go through, and have been through, many sad times, but I always keep my faith in the Lord. The more I have my mind renewed in Him through His Word, the more I am aware of His presence, in my life and His plan for mankind. As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive. If we have been baptized into the body of Christ, born again of the Holy Spirit, we are a new creation, 'in this world but not of this world'. We are God's spiritual Israel and the scriptures can be discerned spiritually. God offered salvation and mercy from this world's curse two thousand years ago, and He is calling everyone into safety. It is down to the individual to respond to that call. He does not tell people to be selfish, cruel and greedy, that has come from the carnal mind and the desire to ignore God.

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  3. Yes I believe you are absolutely right Brenda; He has all the answers after all, so why not ask Him; who else are we going to ask?!

    Yes the world is in great darkness and although we make may strides in science, technology, education and many other leaps forward, it is often to no real avail, it is all a false hope, because the world is greedy, selfish and utterly partial to those who already have everything anyway.

    You wrote, quite beautifully: 'I go through, and have been through, many sad times, but I always keep my faith in the Lord.' I try to be like this myself Brenda, I really do.

    You wrote: 'We are God's spiritual Israel and the scriptures can be discerned spiritually.' A person who fixates on wealth, privilege and the concerns of the world like social status and so on, can not really discern scripture because it is alien to them and gobbledegook. Sometimes we all need to stand back from everything that goes on in the world and listen and see what God is saying to our hearts.

    No, we don't need God to selfish, cruel and greedy, we can do that all by ourselves!

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  4. Tim,
    I have to say this. I feel that you are very honest, and genuinely want answers from God, and this is why I believe you will get them. He has some of the most amazing ways of revealing things to us and when He says 'Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.' it is absolutely true. I haven't learned from the Lord through someone else's ears, I have heard through His voice to me. Don't keep your eyes on circumstance Tim, keep your eyes on Him and you will hear His voice very clearly. He is able to do far more than we could ever imagine in a way that we could never imagine, and is only hindered by human reasoning. You are right when you say 'A person who fixates on wealth, privilege and the concerns of the world like social status and so on, can not really discern scripture because it is alien to them and gobbledegook.' Jesus said, when His disciples wanted to know who was the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven, 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.' It is definately not about position, He chooses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise.
    God bless you in your walk.

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    1. Thank you Brenda for your informative replies; when I read them and the wisdom that you disseminate, I realise that you have a calling from God; everything you write makes perfect sense. You wrote: 'Don't keep your eyes on circumstance Tim, keep your eyes on Him and you will hear His voice very clearly.' I needed to hear that Brenda, because in truth although I try to live diligently as a Christian I am often worrying about my own personal circumstances well before I am thinking about God's promises; it's a fact I can't escape from at the moment.

      You wrote: 'It is definately not about position, He chooses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise.' If God's call was about the important and the well-to-do probably 97% of us wouldn't be Christians! I thank God from my heart He has a calling on my life even though I still don't fully understand it.

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    2. T this is a very interesting post. The very first line of this really sounds familiar because I have asked that question myself, I think almost everyone has. All I know is whatever God's will is that's what I want, and God said His will is good acceptable and perfect. I tend to wonder sometimes, but what is His will for my life, how do I know for sure that what I'm doing now is His will or perhaps I'm suppose to be doing something else.

      I think God will lead us all to His will once we trust in Him and allow His Holy Spirit to be our guide and teacher. All of the questions you asked in this post, God has answered in the bible, you can read the book of Job it can answer a few of these questions in fact many of these questions.

      We all get like this sometimes T, and anybody who say's they don't is lying. There is a scripture that really can help you understand that this feeling is a very old one, from the early ancient times even the Apostle Paul felt this similarly,

      "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you." 2 Corinthians 4:8-12. God has a plan and He never forsakes us, there a scripture where He said His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Nobody will ever fully know the mind of God, His ways are past finding out, meaning we will never fully know so why even get so worked up about it, as we study His words we will get to know Him far better than we ever did.

      Be encouraged and know that your not the only one with questions, but if you truly truly want the answers my brother you have to look no further than His living words found in the bible. :-)

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    3. Thanks for this lovely reply Sateigdra. I think I wrote this post because I was actually reading Job and wanted to ask questions. For a long time in Europe, for a long time in Britain, Christianity was about power and important people, you can see vestiges of this now in big denominations still, but over the years as people have asked what might appear awkward and uncomfortable questions (certainly awkward and uncomfortable to those who use religion to rule and control others) society has changed; we always need to ask questions about injustice and prejudice and we need as Christians always to ask God just what He wants from us, how He wants religion to manifest itself; that religion isn't just about the rich and powerful but it's about myriad ordinary people, people who also have lives to live and a faith too.

      You wrote: 'Be encouraged and know that your not the only one with questions, but if you truly truly want the answers my brother you have to look no further than His living words found in the bible. :-)' It's good to know that other people also think about things, that we don't brush things under the carpet and pretend everything is fine, when it isn't. I think I will always have questions and from time to time I will want to talk about them.

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  5. Hi Tim, I have asked every question you wrote down at least once in my life. You are not alone. And every time I question, every time I am afraid, every time I get frustrated, God reveals Himself to me in a new way.

    Elijah, David, Job, Paul... we who wonder and question are in good company. God is beyond all human comprehension. And thankfully, He is beyond Satan's comprehension too.

    Keep seeking the Lord. Keep running to His word for answers and comfort and hope. God is not limited to His word when it comes to reaching us where we are in our walk with Him. Many times He will use people, circumstances, music, anything to make it clear He loves us.

    What has really helped me through several difficult times in my life has been a study of God's promises from Genesis to Revelation. And then I review what God teaches about spiritual warfare. God is the ultimate teacher. He will never let you down.

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  6. You wrote: '... I have asked every question you wrote down at least once in my life. You are not alone. And every time I question, every time I am afraid, every time I get frustrated, God reveals Himself to me in a new way.' We always need to hear that message, I certainly needed to hear it. As a non-church going Christian I need to hear other Christians points of view and often. I don't ask awkward questions to be provocative or to look cool and rebellious, I genuinely have all kinds of questions; and it appears that many other people have them as well.

    I have been feeling for many months a bit down in the dumps, and although I keep asking God for help and answers, I have been waiting and waiting and nothing appears. At the same time my life and circumstances are pretty good and I have no enemies as such and live quite well.

    You wrote very perceptively:'Many times He will use people, circumstances, music, anything to make it clear He loves us.' Certainly for me many times answers have come in many forms and many ways, some that could be explained and some that couldn't, but it's obvious that it is the Hand of God that is behind it. I ask questions, and I am now waiting for answers...

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