When GOD Asks...

When the Lord asks you a question it is not because He doesn’t know the answer. God’s questions are meant to grab our attention and draw us closer to Him. Questions are one of the many means He employs to get us to stop whatever we are doing, observe and see things the way He sees them. His questions are often an invitation to fellowship and intimacy with Him. 

Source: Google Images

Remember whenever He asked the prophets of old questions, He was setting them up for glorious displays of His power. God asked the prophet Ezekiel, “can these dry bones live?” (Ezekiel 37) when the prophet wasn’t sure, instead of rebuking him, God simply commanded him to prophesy to the dry bones and lo and behold, the unthinkable happened, the dry bones came alive again. When God asked Zechariah, “what do you see?” (Zechariah 5:2) and Zechariah answered, He said “you’ve seen well” and then proceeded to reveal to him what’s to come.  

The enemy’s questions, on the contrary, however subtle or harmless they may seem, seek to instill doubt and unbelief. All his questions are direct or indirect accusations against God and His Word. The enemy knows that as long as we entertain doubt and unbelief, we won’t be as effective in destroying his works. The moment we succumb to the enemy’s warped sense of reasoning, we open ourselves up to shame, fear, guilt and condemnation which in turn undermines our confidence to come before our loving Heavenly Father.  

The first ever question God asked man was in the garden of Eden, He called out to Adam and Eve:

⁹ But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” – Genesis 3:9 NIV  

Adam and Eve were given an opportunity, an invitation to come before God. They fellowshipped with God daily up to this one day when they ran away from Him after disobeying by eating from the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil. It is important to notice what caused them to run and hide wasn't so much because they were sorry that they had disobeyed God, no it was because they “were naked”  – talk about shame, guilt and fear all rolled into one.

¹⁰ He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” – Genesis 3:10 NIV

Entertaining the enemy’s questions will not only get you to doubt and disobey God, but they will also weigh you down with shame and fear. The enemy seeks to paint a skewed, distorted picture of God in our minds and all his questions, suggestions and temptations are geared toward that very end. He knows that if he can get us to doubt God’s character, if he can get us to believe that God doesn't really love us or that He doesn't really care for us, or the He hasn't really forgiven us, then he can draw us away from God and right into destruction.

The enemy wants you to focus on yourself and not on Christ, your Lord and Savior and what He has already done for you and as long as he can get you to do that, then he’s got you exactly where he wants you. Every single time you look at yourself you’ll see shortcomings and imperfections, he’ll make sure of that, and before you know it, you are so weighed down with guilt and condemnation that you cannot even bring yourself to pray. He’ll even whisper in your ear “you’re not really saved, you can’t be”. Don’t let him fool you, remember he is a liar!

The Word is your assurance that you are saved, the Holy Spirit within you witnesses with your spirit that you are a child of God. If you have believed in Jesus and confessed Him as your Lord, according to Romans 10:8-10, you are saved. Don’t go with your feelings or even your actions, stick to the Word.

But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: ⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. – Romans 10:8-10 NIV

Now that we've established your salvation from the Word of God, it is important to also know and believe what the Word says about you being IN Christ.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus – Romans 8:1 NIV

Remember, in Christ you have also been given the gift of non-imputation of sin, that is God is not keeping a record of your sin, for He said..

¹² For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. – Hebrews 8:12 NIV   

God’s questions are an expression of His love towards us, when He asks us something it is because He wants to reveal more of Himself to us in ways that we've never experienced before. His questions are opportunities for us to grow in our knowledge of Him, He so wants to reveal Himself to you, so when you hear His voice, harden not your heart.  

He loves you unconditionally, unreservedly, completely and eternally!