Asking the Tough Questions (125)

James R. Davis

It is difficult to ask the tough questions, isn't it? Questions like: "What is life all about?" Is there any point in the way that I am living? If I don't know where I am going, why am I trying to get there so fast? Why does fear hold me back from considering what life is all about? Why is it that I don't want to acknowledge my emptiness? Why am I afraid of the conclusions that I might reach while mediating on these things? Why is it that when I do consider these questions I often come up empty? Most don't ask these questions until it is too late.

Many don't want to ask the tough questions because they are afraid that the world does not have the answers, and they don't know where else to look. So we cease asking the tough questions. And when we muster up the courage to ask the tough questions the world just turns on its heels and tells each of us that we must search and find our own purpose. This leaves those who have the courage to ask not knowing which way to turn, because they have searched the world and they have looked within and have come up empty.

The appetites we develop in seeking to satisfy our longing are evident in life's problems. We turn our world upside down to find that for which we are longing. We go from one relationship to another; from one job to another; from one mall to the next; we move from city to city; from one new home to another, yet, we come up empty. You can hear the grumbling caused by this emptiness from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue all the way to the ghettos in LA, from monasteries to the communes, from Catholicism to Protestantism from bars to Bible classes from Florida to Alaska.

ABC's 20/20 had a feature story sometime ago about an adventurous young man who was trying to find himself. He became involved in a religious cult but was soon disillusioned. He started traveling the continent and finally went to live in the wilderness of Alaska seeking to isolate himself from all humanity. In his effort to withdraw from society he became trapped in the wilderness of Alaska because of weather and overflowing rivers. He ran out of food so he began eating some bushes that were growing there. But the bushes had no nutritional value and he literally starved to death while eating from these plants. He ended up starving spiritually and physically. So it is with many engaged in an endless quest for fullness, while feeding on the world's philosophy they starve for lack of something with sustenance.

There are signs of this emptiness all about us. A story ran on ABC News this past week about a couple of parents kicking their eleven year old son out of house in freezing weather without any shoes and only a T-shirt and pants. He wandered the streets until he came upon a police station where he went in and told them his plight. He also informed them that his little sister was locked in the basement of the house confined to a cold basement with a dog cage in which she slept. When she came home from school she was confined to the dog cage until mealtime. Sometimes at mealtime she was allowed to get out and eat and other times she wasn't allowed to eat. No decent person could sit and listen to a story such as this one without feeling a sense of rage rush through their soul. This story leaves one asking, "How could people be so heartless and hollow?"

We are hearing stories like this one almost daily. Whether we are willing to admit it or not, these stories are indicative of the philosophical direction in which our world is pushing us. The wisdom of the world tells each of us that we must search and find our own purpose. This leads people on an endless, futile search for meaning. Too many times it leads our world toward self-fulfillment without any regards for those closest to us. Our world is filled with self-absorbed, frightened, hollow people. The following quote sums up the direction of our world.

"The most pleasurable journey you take is through yourself...the only sustaining love is with yourself . . . When you look back on your life and try to figure our where you've been and where you're going, when you look at your work, your love affairs, your marriages, your children, your pain your happiness --- when you examine closely, what you really find out is that the only person you really go to bed with is yourself . . . The only thing you have is working to the consummation of your own identify."

For the last couple of decades we have turned this mindless self-conscious search for self into one of the biggest growth industries of all time. Self-fulfillment ads are popping up every where. They endeavor to help us tap into our inner personal power that is supposedly lying dormant in our psyche. We have become self-absorbed. A preoccupation with these values has also perverted the church's message. Churches are also on the bandwagon preaching a self-help Christianity of self-esteem, health and prosperity. We say, "God helps those who help themselves." This becomes an effort to justify the self-fulfillment mentality.

Many are like the deeply troubled individual who went to a psychiatrist to relieve his anxiety. He awoke melancholy every morning and he went to bed in the evening deeply depressed. Darkness and clouds marked his day. He couldn't find relief for this anxiety. In his desperate condition, he decided to seek the counsel of a medical doctor. The psychiatrist listened to him for almost an hour. Finally, leaning toward his patient he said to him, "You know, there's a local show at a theater. I understand a new Italian clown has come into our city, and he's leaving 'em in the aisles. He's getting rave reviews from the critics. Maybe he is the one that will bring back your happiness. Why don't you go see this professional clown and laugh your troubles away?" The man replied, "Doctor, I am that clown."

Our Need for Direction

This endless search for self is one of the greatest indicators of our need for something more substantial to lead and guide us. The dead end streets we have encountered in our search are the greatest indicators of our ultimate need for direction. And it is so hard to find direction when we are looking in all the wrong places. When we misdiagnose the problem the cure is ineffective and our prognosis is usually very poor. It is even harder to find solutions if we are afraid of the answers that we will receive. This is especially true when we think the answers we do find will make us miserable.

G. Campbell Morgan related this story: "A lady said to me some years ago, 'I'm tired of this worldly life. I'm going to give myself to Christ. I know what it means; I will have to do all the things I most dislike, but I am determined to be a real Christian.' When I returned to her town a year later," said Morgan, "she was one of the first to welcome me. 'Do you recall,' she inquired, 'what I said to you when I rededicated my life?' I told her I certainly did. Then she looked at me and the light of God was on her face as she exclaimed, 'But it's been so different, Dr. Morgan! I began to follow Christ feeling that I would have to do all the things that were contrary to my desires, but now I do what I want every day because God has made me pleased with the things that please Him!'"

The Israelites to whom Jeremiah spoke were looking in the wrong direction. The Lord says, as Jeremiah writes, "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." (Jeremiah 2:13) In their search they had forsaken God and they were digging their own wells. Their thirst for a better world was tremendous although they were misled. I think Jeremiah defines our problem, Jeremiah indicates these people had a longing that only God could fulfill. Yet, they were trying to fulfill it themselves. This is expressed in the idea of them digging their own water reservoirs that would not hold water. Jeremiah said of Israel, "But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. (Jeremiah 7:24)

Isaiah prophesied about the joy that awaited Israel, "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." (Isaiah 12:3) But presently Israel was suffering and Isaiah asks, "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance." (Isaiah 55:2) "The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. (Isaiah 58:11)

Our Need Is A Change of Heart

When we ignore or minimize the need of our own heart we become like fish trying to live on land or humans trying to live on a planet that has no oxygen.

Joel said that we must " . . . rend our hearts, and not our garments, and turn unto the LORD your God." (Joel 2:13) It was customary in Joel's time that when a person reached wits end, the person would tear his/her clothes and cover oneself  in sackcloth and ashes. Joel said that they must rend their hearts not their garments. Today when we reach wits end as we look for direction in the circumstances of life, we must understand that we need an inward direction only God can give. We usually look to the world or to our own hearts for guidance. Jeremiah pointed the Israelites back to God and warned them of the deceitfulness of their own hearts.

Jeremiah 17:7-11
"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve." Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay is the man who gains riches by unjust means. When his life is half gone, they will desert him, and in the end he will prove to be a fool."

Today millions are searching their own hearts but where are the searches leading them. Jeremiah wrote, "O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?" (Jeremiah 4:14) This means that we must prepare our hearts to receive God's instructions. This is no easy task. But God is willing to help.

When Ezra reached wits end with the Jews during the Babylonian captivity the Bible says, "Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments." (Ezra 7:10) Ezra prepared his heart to receive God's instructions. Ezra understood that the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. Of all our problems, it is the problem of the heart that plagues us.

Personal Desire Is Important

In our search personal desire is important. Imagine watching the news flashes and seeing a cure for cancer discovered or reading a newspaper about the development of a vaccine for AIDS or there was a news release concerning a pill that totally removes depression has been invented. If you were touched by any of these problems surely you would want to obtain the remedy. If we had a friend or family member sick we would want them well.

But what if underneath every one of these captions there was a condition. What if after each cure recorded there were conditions that say all you have to do is, and then the conditions were outlined. Obviously we would weigh the conditions over against the healing. If the results were greater than the conditions, we would go for it. If we felt the conditions were too much, we may choose to live, or die, with the condition.

If we are not satisfied with our spiritual life we may have to choose to make the necessary sacrifices to develop a closer walk with God. Whatever situation, shortcoming, or dissatisfaction we are undergoing, it requires a decision on our part to be well. We must obtain the will to be well.

The major condition is our willingness; if in our heart we are content to stay as we are there can be no change for us. Many wonder if they could really be the kind of person that God would have them to be. The real concern is: "Do I desire to be the kind of person God would have me to be?" Paul spoke of the "earnest desire . . . yea, what vehement desire" the Corinthians had in carrying out the instructions concerning their personal problems which he had addressed in the First Corinthian letter. (2 Corinthian 7:7-11) Their desire for spiritual wholeness enabled them to overcome their spiritual ailments.

Knowing Truth Contingent on Our Willingness to Obey

Ezra prepared his heart to do the will of God. We learn by doing. This does not mean a life of perfect obedience. About the fifth time I put that Christmas toy together after groping with the instructions --- then I begin to understand how it fits together. So it is with life. God's instructions are to be put to use in our lives. As we begin to use those instructions we gain deeper insight into what is to be done. But thanks be to God that while we are in the midst of the struggle God in his grace protects us and encourages us. (Romans 7:14-25)

We often quote what Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth and the true shall make you free." Jesus placed conditions on knowing the truth about our emptiness. It requires more than believing, one must choose to do his will, one must abide by his will and one must hold to his word.

John 7:15-18
The Jews were amazed and asked, "How did this man get such learning without having studied?" Jesus answered, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. (Emphasis is Jesus'; I merely put it in bold.)

John 8:30-32
Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him. To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (Emphasis is Jesus'; I merely put it in bold.)

God's Help Is Promised

Jesus makes us promises. Jesus said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28) "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst." (John 6:35) "This is the bread which came down from heaven--not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever." (John 6:58) "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." (John 7:38) Jesus promised, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6)

God spoke to Jeremiah concerning the captives in Babylon, "And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart." (Jeremiah 24:7) John wrote, "For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will . . . " (Revelation 17:17) Paul said, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Phil 2:13)

Many of our prayers today revolve around wanting the circumstances of our lives changed. But our prayers should be, "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil." (Matthew 6:13) God has provided a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13), therefore our prayers should be, "Dear God, help us to want to see the way of escape and help us take it when we do see it."

The chorus of a beautiful old song says: "His power can make you what you ought to be; His blood can cleanse your heart and make you free . . . " God will give us power to come to him. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." (John 1:12) God is willing to give us the power to come to Christ; he has given us power to become disciples of Christ; He has given us power to overcome through Christ!

Paul said of the weak brother " . . . for God is able to make him stand." (Romans 14:4) Isaiah said, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee, be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (Isaiah 41:10)

In Isaiah it is written, "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Paul said that we can be more than conquers through him that loved us. (Romans 8:37)

There came a leper to Jesus saying, "Lord if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed." (Matthew 8:2-3) God is saying to us "Be thou clean."

God can place a holy desire in your heart. "Praise be to the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put it into the king's heart to bring honor to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem in this way. (Ezra 7:27) If God did this for the king he can do it for you.

Joel 2:12-13
'Even now,' declares the LORD, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.' Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

God can put in your heart the desire to do his will, but the choice do his will is yours. Paul says that we can have all things although we have nothing. (2 Corinthians 6:10) Jesus says that if you are hungering and thirsting you shall be filled or in today's concept, even though we are running on empty we can be filled. (Matthew 5:6) But we must heed God's direction, hold to Christ teaching and abide in his word.

Conclusion:

Unfortunately most do not know that for which they are hungering . . . because they have failed to realize that those deep hunger pains are pointing to God. Many are on an endless search to find someone or something that will make them complete. They have missed diagnosed the problem and the cure is ineffective. There is no person or no thing that can make you or me feel satisfied. In fact I have realized that if you follow anyone long enough you will soon realize that they are just as confused as you are.

When we come to God realizing our condition, mourning over our spiritual emptiness, submissively seeking his will and hungering after what he has to offer, then he promises us certain things will follow. If we do this then the kingdom of heaven is ours, we shall be comforted, we shall also inherit the earth and we shall be filled. (Matthew 5:1-6)

John 17:1-3 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (NIV)

What more do we need?

The Bible describes this emptiness as being lost which indicates that we have need of direction. (Romans 3:23)

If all you have is the desire to make a choice God promises he will bring his work to fruition in you, provided you make the choice. Paul says, " . . .being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6)

If you will show your desire in repentance by turning to God he will lead you through the watery grave of baptism so you can bury your life with Christ in God. As you commit your life to him with prayerful obedience he will lead you to inherit the truly great blessings earth has to offer. You will be filled. He will lead you to your eternal home he has prepared for you. (John 14:1-6)