Have you ever argued with God? I have. I am embarrassed that I have to admit arguing with all-knowing God. I do not know what I was thinking. Why did I not accept that God knows everything, and there is no way I can out-think Him? Why did I not trust and obey?
I am not the first person to argue with God, and I will not be the last. Cain tried to dispute with God after killing his brother, Able. (Genesis 4:9-15) Moses tried to argue that God had called the wrong person when God told him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. (Exodus 3:7-4:17). The Apostle Peter tried to argue with God about what was clean and what was unclean. (Acts 10:9-23) While I do not know your story, I am sure that you have tried to argue with God at some point.
Part of being human seems to be that we think we know more than we do. We tend to believe that we can predict the future better than we can. It is this self-certainty that gives us the false hope that we can win an argument with God.
I recall one day I was praying in my garage, and God began speaking to me about ministering to Spanish speakers. I argued that I did not speak the language, that I did not understand their customs and culture, and did not know where to find them. (Statistically speaking, there are not very many where I live.) I thought I made a great argument. I stopped praying and walked toward my house. As I reached for the doorknob, God said, “But I do.” My arguments evaporated. If God would help me learn Spanish, and He would find Spanish speakers, and He would guide me as I learned their customs and culture, I had no argument left.
Often our arguments with God are not about things as life-changing as what I faced. It is more common to deny that we should apologize for our words or actions. Perhaps it is a bad habit that keeps us feeling defeated, but we keep trying to argue to God that the practice should stay. When we contend for a tradition that distracts us from pursuing God, we indicate that behavior pattern is more important to us than God.
Usually, when we argue with God, we indicate that we do not trust Him to do what is best. We often fail to remember that we cannot see the future. While we try to make plans for the next day, week, month, or year, God sees decades into our future. Our society teaches that we are the only person who will look after our interests. Scripture teaches us that God cares about us, our interests, and our total being far more than we ever can.
Moses argued because the task God was assigning him was outside his comfort zone. He had lived in the pharaoh’s palace; he knew the customs and the language. Moses was 80 years old when God called him. He had a regular job that he attended to each day. There was safety in the loneliness of the desert. The security of his wife and children could be disturbed if he followed God’s call. The question Moses wrestled with seems to have been, “Do I trust God enough to obey even when a comfortable outcome seems unlikely?”
Sometimes that we argue with God because we are afraid of what everyone else will say. This fear may have played a role with Moses also. He had a wife, what would she say? What would his father-in-law say when he resigned as sheepherder? We often allow these kinds of questions to stop us from obeying God. Moses went ahead and obeyed. His father-in-law blessed him, and his wife traveled with him back to Egypt. God had already prepared their hearts and minds to be receptive to what God had called Moses to do. (Exodus 4:18-20)
The Apostle Peter argued with God because God’s request was outside Peter’s paradigm. He had a vision where he received God’s instruction to make a meal of one of the animals shown to him. Peter had never eaten any of those animals because they were considered unclean by Jewish law. Peter informed God of that fact. Peter forgot that he was talking with the One who had given the law to Moses. When the test was over, God revealed that He intended the vision to help Peter not discriminate against other people groups. (Acts 10:9-33) It was a massive paradigm shift for Peter to think that God was as interested in followers who were not Jewish as He was in the Jewish people.
What amazing things happen when we stop arguing, trust God, and obey! When I stopped arguing with God about ministering to Spanish speakers, I met people I would not have met. I have traveled to countries that I would not have visited. I now have international contacts because I stopped arguing and obeyed. It is impossible to know what God will call you to do until you stop arguing and start listening. God desires what is best for us, but it is up to us to summon the courage to trust Him and obey.
Living in God’s shadow does not promise that we will see the entire path our life will take. This life of living in His shadow requires holding tightly to God’s hand and trusting Him to lead us into each step. Arguing causes us to lag behind God’s coaching, and failure to cling to God’s hand causes us to lose direction. Many times I have prayed, “God, please help me not to run ahead or lag behind. Please keep me in step with You.” It is this attitude that helps us to stay in God’s shadow. Grasp the hand of the Almighty and boldly live in His shadow.