"I Have a Question!": Waiting for God's Answers

Growing up, I was the typical nerd. I was always the student in class who would raise their hand saying, “I have a question … ” (I learned quickly not to stand up, wave my hands, and yell … thanks to first grade.)

I just loved asking all types of questions. I still do.

Two kinds of questions that I ask are random questions and life questions.

The “random question”

One of my random questions was “What would sun tan lotion taste like?”

Oh, believe me – growing up in Florida this is something I had thought about since I was eleven. I know it’s completely absurd, but what’s great about a random question is that it just passes through my mind. I don’t need to know the answer immediately and it doesn’t cause me any anxiety.

Picture this, I was fifteen and it was my first day working at Haagen Daaz. My tattooed, sixty-year-old boss let me sample every ice cream we carried.

I took a spoonful of Pineapple Coconut ice cream and it was like there were fireworks in my mouth; it was exactly how I imagined sun tan lotion should taste!

It was exciting to have the answer to that question, and it didn’t matter that it took me four years to figure out.

The “life questions”

On the other hand, the second type of question is a bit different. These are the substantial “life questions.”

These begin in my heart and tend to stop in my head, they linger. They usually have to do with seeking God’s will in my life, such as:

“What is my vocation?”
“What is my purpose?”
“Where’s my future spouse at?”

I remember at fifteen, asking the Lord who I was supposed to marry. But that didn’t affect me at that point in my life. I wasn’t getting married any time soon.

I wanted solutions immediately and I tried to figure them out instead of waiting for the answers to come.

Walk then Run

When I try to figure things out before God’s time, it’s like I’m trying to finish a race without putting my shoes on. I’m skipping an important step. Which only leads to losing, getting nasty blisters and probably breaking my big toe.

I have to let the Lord teach me how to walk first and then He will “guide my feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:79) Only after that can I put shoes on and start running.

He knows the precise moment for me to lace up and “run so as to win” (1 Corinthians 9:24) so why rush it?

“Many days you will wait for me … ” (Hosea 3:5)

While we wait for Christ, our fears and anxieties cease because if we surrender to the Lord we can know in faith that he hears us and listens. He created our desires and only He can fulfill them.

He won’t let me miss out on the next step He has for me. I have to remind myself of this daily. My hope has to be in Him, and He cannot disappoint (Romans 5:5).

It might be years before He reveals some of my big “life questions” to me, but His timing is perfect because He is perfect.

I don’t think God is going to tell me whether or not I should eat lucky charms or yogurt tomorrow morning. But I do know for the life questions, whenever I begin “I have a question,” from my heart, I have to wait for God to respond, “I have an answer.”

Because He does.