Is it wrong to question God? We are faced with so many questions, some that we are able to find direct answers for, and others that are unique to our situations. We ask questions like: why would I have to go through this? Why is there so much suffering? Why can’t I ever find answers? Regardless of the questions, there are not always direct answers that we can find in the Bible. We can apply Biblical truths to our questions, but the Bible does not answer questions like why a child had to die from cancer. So, is it wrong to question God? From wars, to poverty, to starvation, to rape, murder, death. Are we able to go to God and ask Him why He allows some of these things? Is that a sin?

All throughout scripture inspired authors question God. Throughout the Psalms the authors question what God might be doing through a situation or a difficulty. They question His purpose, His plan, His will, and His goodness. Also the prophets sometimes questioned God. The whole first part of Habakkuk is about him questioning God:

The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.

O Lord, how long shall I cry,

And You will not hear?

Even cry out to You, “Violence!”

And You will not save.

Why do You show me iniquity,

And cause me to see trouble?

For plundering and violence are before me;

There is strife, and contention arises.

Therefore the law is powerless,

And justice never goes forth.

For the wicked surround the righteous;

Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.

(Habakkuk 1:1-4)

Habakkuk is looking at the world around him and he does not understand what God is doing. There is pain, violence, suffering, and death. He doesn’t understand why a good God would allow for this to happen. Was it wrong for Habakkuk to ask these questions? Well God never responds with anger, or with a rebuke. Actually God responds very differently than we would like for Him too:

“Look among the nations and watch—

Be utterly astounded!

For I will work a work in your days

Which you would not believe, though it were told you.

(Habakkuk 1:5)

When God responds to Habakkuk, He does not respond to Habakkuk’s direct situation at all. In Israel during this time there was violence and bloodshed. Wickedness was prevalent, and the law was powerless! That would be like an American saying “Liberty is dead”. To the Jews, life without the Law was life in America without freedom, yet Habakkuk saw the Law as powerless. He was looking all around Him and questioned why a good God would let these things happen to His people. But God did not respond to Habakkuk’s situation directly, in fact in His response He focuses on something so much bigger.

Habakkuk’s view of the world was small. He only saw what was going on right in front of him. But God told Him to “look among the nations”. God took Habakkuk’s sight and told him to widen it to see everything, not just what was right before him.

Next, God describes how Habakkuk was going to be “astounded”. God was working. Even if Habakkuk could not see it, God was on the move. He was doing something amazing, something that would redeem the people of Judah. But Habakkuk could not see what God was doing. It was not within his line of sight or within his ability to understand.

So that brings us back to the original question: Is it wrong to question God? No, I do not believe that it is wrong to question God. Habakkuk was not in sin for questioning what God was doing. But the problem is that we often more than just question. When we fall into difficult situations we not only question God, but we blame Him and doubt Him. Life is hard. Sin has desecrated what God has made good, and because of that we can see the effects of sin in everything around us. There is violence, raping, pain, suffering, and we do not understand why God would allow this to happen.

The very last part of Habakkuk says:

Though the fig tree may not blossom,

Nor fruit be on the vines;

Though the labor of the olive may fail,

And the fields yield no food;

Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,

And there be no herd in the stalls—

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will joy in the God of my salvation.

(Habakkuk 3:17-18)

What Habakkuk is saying is that even if everything in life fails, and he starves to death, he would still rejoice in the Lord. So what happened between when Habakkuk is questioning God and the very end where he is praising God? Nothing! Habakkuk’s situation is the same. There is the same level of violence and suffering, and actually it would get much worse. But what did change was Habakkuk’s perspective.

When we see the world we look at everything that is bad. We look at all the dark parts of the picture and we forget two things: 1. God continues to be good, even in an evil world; and 2. God has not finished painting the picture yet. The big picture is far bigger than we can ever see or comprehend. And we may not understand why those difficult things happen, but we can have the same joy that Habakkuk has through the right perspective that God is not finished yet.

Habakkuk did not need an easy life or solutions to his current problems to find joy. We today will also not find joy in health, wealth, or happiness. Because no matter how much stuff we get, we will not be satisfied; we will always want more. Even if we are healed, we will continue to complain about our feeble bodies. But though the healing may never come, and though success may never be reached; though we may not have the nicest things, or the most talent, yet we are able to rejoice in the Lord. We can take joy in the God of our salvation.

God never promised that life would be easy. However; He did promise that He would never leave us or forsake us, and that His grace is sufficient (Hebrews 13:5, 2 Corinthians 12:9). So when faced by difficult situations it is not wrong to ask God why those hard things happen, but even in those times of uncertainty look to God as your source of joy, and not His gifts.

So yes, ask questions about difficult things. Cry out to God, for He does hear you. But remember to have the right perspective that God is working and He is restoring all things. It may be hard now, but God is continuing His work today. He keeps His promises and He has abundant grace. No matter the challenges you face or the questions you have, He is bigger and He has already overcome.