Is it OK to complain and question God?

One of the questions we ran out of time to address in our discussion of chapter 8 of "The Shack" is this: Does trusting God to be good mean we shouldn't question Him and want to understand why we or our loved ones suffer? How do trust, relationship and questioning relate to each other?

One of the worship styles that we see in scripture which is totally absent today from Churchland (in the west) is the form of the lament. Here is some information concerning lament lifted from:
http://www.cbn.com/cbnmusic/artists/card_michael.aspx

The first few words heard on Michael Card’s CD The Hidden Face of God extend an invitation to a very specific group of listeners– “If you are wounded…” Because after 25 years of composing and singing legendary songs, writing award-winning books, hosting his own radio talk shows, and ministering in churches worldwide, Michael believes he has finally recognized what is lacking in the life of the average Christian today – lamenting.

“Our theology tells us that if we complain to God, we’re being disrespectful,” says Michael. “But at least 80 of the Psalms are actually Laments. It has become a lost language to our culture, yet almost every major Biblical character recorded a lament. There must be a reason for that.”

So what is lamenting? Webster says to lament is to “mourn aloud; to express sorrow or regret; cry out in grief; complain.” Michael says lamenting is ultimately a place of pure worship.

In The Hidden Face of God, Michael discovers that place of praise and worship through tearful, sometimes tragic, lyrics. “Every lament in the Bible, with the exception of Psalm 88, ends in praise,” Michael continues. “The answer to all our laments is seeing the face of God. Job wasn’t going to stop complaining until God came down and spoke to him. And when God finally did that – even though He didn’t bother to explain to Job why his sufferings were taking place – His presence was enough to make Job’s questions go away.”

Is our God, the God of the scriptures, big enough to handle our rants and rages - beating our fists on His chest - as long as in the end we turn towards Him and not away from Him? Should we discipline ourselves to show nothing but stoic trust, and, like good Buddhists, seek to remove all desires (and emotions) from our lives?

Are we showing distrust in His goodness or can we find an appropriate release of our sorrow, grief and emotions? Can we pour them out to the One who has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4a), who is described as "a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief", who claims that His yoke is easy and His burden light (Matthew 11:30) as He walks along side of us? He says that he will not snap off the bruised reed or snuff out the smoldering wick (Isaiah 42:3, Matthew 12:20)

With such a patient, kind and embracing God, maybe it isn't surprising that 79/80 of the Psalms which are laments turn to God at the end in order to seek His face. Maybe the wonder and awe of such a God causes us to turn to Him, spent from our sorrow and grief. Embraced and accepted, we find our peace, our shalom at rest in His arms.

I have had the opportunity to hold many children in much the same way.

- PuritanTim

A conversation starter

Gentlemen,

While we seem to be simmering on the "Problem of Evil" topic, I'll throw one out there.

What have you found to be the most efficacious method of dealing with sin in your life?

The Puritans would say that no one can deal with their own sin by focusing on it. Concentrating on your sin (with white knuckles) only gives it more power and authority in your life and leaves you frustrated and defeated. The solution, they say, is to find something that is even more appealing to you than the sin and begin to replace/ supplant the "old affection" with the "new affection".

Of course, there is only and ever one affection which is worthy of that - Jesus Christ. It seems to me that this is part of what the Apostle Paul is going after in Philippians 3:7-14, the focusing on the goal, pressing for the prize, which is Christ, our very great reward.

Funny, it's almost ZEN in nature. There is strenuous effort and labor involved but it is not in white knuckling determination to conquer your sin, it is in reaching for something so much better. While the acknowledgment, confession and repentance of the sin is crucial (1 John 1), the effort must all be focused on the One who is faithful and just.

And I must say that I have found it to be very helpful.

- PuritanTim