“Why did Jesus ask questions when He already knew the answers?” Richard Blackaby asked a crowd of 300 people attending a conference at the Billy Graham Training Center near Asheville. Richard and his well-known dad, Henry, are co-authors of Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God. They, along with Richard’s son Mike, were leading a three-day conference on “Questions from Heaven: The Greatest Ever Asked.”

The questions were all familiar ones we have read many times from the scriptures. The people to whom they were addressed sometimes struggled for the right answers; but once they answered them, their lives were transformed. Jesus was interested in getting their attention and changing and redirecting their lives–not in finding out the answers.

When the questions were directed to me, I struggled a bit myself. In fact, I am still puzzling over them, especially questions 2 and 4.  If you would like some spiritual exercise, spend some time alone with God and answer them for yourself.

1. “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words. . . Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” (Job 38:2, 4 NLT)

You may recognize this question as one the Lord asked Job after Job and his friends had persistently asked that old question, “Why?”

Rather than answer Job’s question, the Lord asks him a litany of questions which Job cannot possibly answer. Ultimately, the Lord never gives Job reasons for his hardships. Like a father answering a persistent child, he basically says, “Because I’m your Dad and I know what’s best. Trust me.”

In response to the Lord’s unanswerable questions, Job finally concludes,

 ^“’You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’
It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about,
things far too wonderful for me. . .
I take back everything I said,
and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” (Job 42:1-3, 6)

Are you, like me, troubled with “Why?” If so, perhaps we need to accept that God is God and we are not! There’s an old hymn that says, “Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.” I think that’s excellent advice!

2. “Where have you come from and where are you going?” (Genesis 16:8 NLT)

“The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur.  The angel said to her, ‘Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?’” (Genesis 16:8 NLT)

The answer to this question, according to Mike Blackaby, helps us determine the next step in our walk with the Lord. In Hagar’s case, she was running away from home because of Sarai’s abuse. The angel told her to go back, and the Lord would look after her. She obeyed, and God cared for her.

In wrestling with this question, I realized that I am at a crossroads, too. All of us are. I can stay where I am, or I can move into uncharted territory and follow the Lord. What about you? Are you stuck? Is the Lord calling you to new places? Or do you, like Hagar, need to go back and take care of unfinished business at home?

3. Jesus asked, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is? . . .Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15 NLT)

 How we respond to this third question is the most important answer we will ever give. Peter got it right, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16 NLT)

The world would tell us that Jesus is a prophet, a teacher, a fake, a fraud, while the Word tells us that He is the “way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John `4:6 NLT)

 Who do YOU believe? The world or the Word? As for me, I believe the Word!

4. The fourth question was directed to Philip, one of the disciples.

“Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?”⁶ He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.” (John 6:5-6 NLT)

Philip knew there was no way he and the disciples could feed 5,000 people; yet through the power of Jesus, they did! When Jesus is our partner, we, too, can accomplish the miraculous. “ For with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37 NKJV)

I personally have been wrestling with a gigantic challenge that I know within myself I cannot accomplish. I must decide if I will trust or turn away. What unsurmountable challenge has the Lord laid before you that in your own power you could never accomplish? Do we—you and I–have enough faith to follow where He leads? Will we pass the test, as Philip did, or fail and run away?

Life changing questions. That’s what these are. I hope you will spend some time wrestling with them, as I am doing. I also hope you will prayerfully read or re-read Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God.  I promise your life will be transformed through the experience!

And if you ever get a chance to participate in a Blackaby seminar whether at the Cove or somewhere else, run and don’t walk to attend. It will change your life!

Perhaps you have already read the book or participated in one of their seminars. If so, I’d love to hear from you. Blessings for the journey ahead.