Do We Get to Ask "Where is God?"

The people of Israel, with their backs up against the wall, start asking some really big questions: Is God with us or not? Sure, they’ve been delivered from the last crisis, but is Yahweh the God who can deliver them from the next crisis?

In their words: They tested Yahweh, saying, “Is Yahweh among us or not?” - Exodus 17:7

You wouldn’t think it, but elsewhere in scripture this is a question that is held in honor. When the prophet Jeremiah challenged the religious leaders, he got so frustrated with them because they wouldn’t be honest about the really important questions. Here’s a bit of that passage:

The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me. - Jeremiah 2:8

So if religious people are actually encouraged to ask the hard question about God’s existence/presence, that suggests we might be encouraged to ask our questions as well. After all, we have a Savior who asked really hard questions of God on the cross (“Why have you forsaken me?”).

What is the hardest question you’ve been willing to ask God? Are there some lingering in the back corners of your heart and mind that might need to be surfaced these days?