Ask the Right Questions

In John 11 Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead after he had been in the grave for four days. In verse 37 of the chapter, Jesus enters Bethany, the city where Lazarus died, and people ask, ‘could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?’ They asked  the wrong question. If you notice, nobody asked ‘can Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead?’ Their question implied that it would have been easier for Jesus to prevent the man from dying. In other words, a limit was placed on what people believed Jesus was able to do. They could have asked for a miracle, but rather they were fixated on what could have been.

It is easy to look at this text and criticize their thoughts about Jesus and the question they asked. However, if we look within ourselves, we will see we are no different, especially when we desperately look to God for a miracle or breakthrough. When we make requests to the Lord during times of trials and difficulties, sometimes He answers us by saying ‘no, this is not my will for you”. Instead of trusting Him and leaning on the fact that He knows everything and will cause all things to work for our good,  we turn around and ask the wrong questions such as; ‘could God not have prevented this from happening in the first place?’. The answer is yes of course! There is nothing too hard for God to do (Jeremiah 32:27). But the latter response comes from a place of fear whereas the former response comes from a place of faith.

It is perfectly human to ask questions that seem logical to the human mind, and most times these questions come from a place of sincerity. These questions come from a place of real human pain and experience. They may be logical to us but they won’t pass the scrutiny of God’s word, and the sovereignty of His will, power, and purpose. We should learn to ask the right questions and we can also learn to boldly ask for a miracle.  Asking the right questions through the word of God and taking into account His promises and sovereignty will strengthen your journey and help you to be grateful. But you can only ask the right questions when you have faith in the God to whom you are asking. The people standing around when Lazarus died had enough faith to ask why Jesus didn’t come earlier because He could have prevented Lazarus’s death. Mary had enough faith to believe that Jesus would eventually raise Lazarus up at the Resurrection. But nobody had enough faith to believe that Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead right there and then, despite the fact that he had been dead four days.

Now, let’s take a step back. Imagine if Mary had asked the Lord to raise Lazarus from the dead. I don’t mean asking Him to see if it was possible but asking Him because she knows He can do it! She could have been comforted even while mourning, knowing with full assurance that when Jesus shows up, her brother will be raised from the dead. What can we learn here? —When God doesn’t prevent a situation from happening, instead of becoming weary like all hope is gone, we can ask God for a miracle! We all love miracles but none of us want to end up in situations that require miracles. How ironic! The  key takeaway is that regardless of what you may face in life, make the right request to God and start by asking the right questions. Don’t limit God in your request— it’s a sign that you lack faith. Ask Him to do beyond your expectations! He’s able. If you do find that you are fearful, ask God to turn your fear into faith. Ask him to increase your faith (Luke 17:5).

None of us know what tomorrow may bring, but we know the God who holds our tomorrow, He leads us by the hand (Isaiah 41:13). We saw Him dividing the red sea, He delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians, He healed nations, He brought down those who set themselves up against Him, and ultimately He provides salvation for all men. This same God is the God in control of whatever situation you may face. I think we lose sight of how awesome and powerful God is when we don’t make conscious decisions to remind ourselves of what He has done in the past and what He has promised to do in the future. 

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