"But Abraham said, "Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless?" (Genesis 15:2 NIV)
"Abram believed the Lord and He credited it to him as righteousness." (Genesis 15:6)
It turns out we can trust God as sovereign, but still have questions.
Some of us will need to read that again.
Abram believed God. He believed Him so thoroughly that God counted his belief as righteousness. But still, look at his greeting; he calls God Sovereign.
SOVEREIGN adjective suv’eran.
1. Supreme in power; possessing supreme dominion; as a sovereignruler of the universe.
2. Supreme; superior to all others; chief. God is the sovereign good of all who love and obey him.
3. Supremely efficacious; superior to all others; predominant; effectual; as a sovereign remedy.
4. Supreme; pertaining to the first magistrate of a nation; as sovereign authority.
Some friends and I got together to break bread last week and this scripture was the meat of our discussion. We each know that God is sovereign, even good. We each trust Him. But we all have questions.
It is amazing to consider that the King of the Universe allows for inquiry. Think about the audacity of that! He’s got the whole world in His hands, and yet, His throne room is open for discourse. He even offers Himself in intimate conversation.
We see this in Abram’s chapters, but also with Moses and David and Job. Turns out “I trust You God, but also, I have questions…” is a perfectly acceptable way to respond to God’s sovereignty. It’s unfortunate that Eve didn’t come to the same conclusion; what if she had taken her snake-induced doubt straight to the Creator instead of relying on her sin-instinct?
Remarkably, we find the second Adam in the Garden again, wrestling with his own series of questions. Only He handles His flesh so much better than we do.
"Father, if You are willing, take this cup away from Me; yet not My will but Yours be done." (Luke 22:42 NIV)
We can acknowledge God’s sovereignty and still have questions. What we do with those questions is what matters most. God counts our faith as righteousness and comes close enough to sit with us in our unknowing, if only we’ll have courage to take our questions into His presence. He doesn’t always answer our inquiries immediately, but He won’t leave us amidst them indefinitely.
(German painter, 1823 – 1891), published in 1882.
Let’s circle back to Job. Job asked a litany of questions; many of them quite accusatory, yet God still considered Job to be righteous despite his interrogation. At the end of the discussion, Job was even more convince of God’s sovereignty. Listen to his testimony in chapter 42.
"Then Job replied to the Lord: "I know that You can do all things; no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things that are too wonderful for me to know. You said 'Listen now and I will speak; I will question you and you shall answer me.' My ears have heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You." (Job 42:1-5 NIV)
Faith invites us into honest conversation with a God. He is more than happy to take our questions and graciously lead us to a place of comprehension. God is good with our questions when they are asked in faith. Abram’s format is an adequate fit for us all: “Sovereign God; but also, I have questions.”
Lord, today we acknowledge Your sovereignty. We know that You sit on the throne above it all and we are happily subject. That said, sometimes we have questions. It’s comforting to consider Your open-throne policy. Give us the courage to bring our questions directly to You, keep us in the conversation even when we don’t understand. Thank You for taking our inquiries, we know You don’t have to. Thank You for leading with love and mercy and mindfulness of our humble estate. We are ever honored to come close. Amen.