When I graduated college, my media professor made a point to tell me that in all of his years teaching, he had never had a student ask so many questions. I was the top of the class, so I know he didn’t mean it negatively. But you see, I strive to understand every little detail of anything I don’t understand, and I explore every option if there’s a choice to be made. Helpful in the academic arena, but a hindrance in everyday life and more importantly, my faith.
Twenty-twenty showed this in full stride when a normal 4-month check-up for my daughter ended with an ultrasound and a diagnosis of Hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain). I threw my hands up, begging God for a miracle and praying that the doctors were wrong.
With each new test, hospital stay, and surgery my hands got lower and lower. My heart got progressively harder as I started to question everything. I questioned God’s goodness, His ability to heal my daughter, and His empathy to do so, even if He could.
Today’s reading reminds me that I’m not the only one who has allowed this questioning to challenge the truth that is Jesus. As you read back through Mark 5: 25-34 (NIV) pay attention to the way others respond to the woman’s actions and ask yourself the question:
“Are there any sins to repent of?”
Sin: Questioning Jesus
When the woman reached out and grabbed Jesus’s cloak, the Bible says “at once” He felt the power go out from Him. But when Jesus asked who touched Him, He was given this reply…
“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples
answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
Mark 5:31
Anyone else feel like the disciples were getting a little sarcastic here? Instead of answering Jesus, they mocked and questioned. Yet, Jesus knew there was a change and so did the woman.
For a long time after my daughter’s diagnosis I allowed myself to question Jesus like the disciples did here. It was only after time, space, and a clarity that could only have come from God that I realized at the center of my questioning, was doubt.
Like me, the disciples used their questioning to hide their doubt in Jesus’s power. They had witnessed miraculous things, yet doubt still crept in and clouded their minds. Causing them to miss the miracle unfolding in front of their own eyes.
It’s far too easy to fall into the sin of questioning God, and His wisdom, when things go wrong in this world. This sin leaves us missing miracles and doubting our creator.
Where do you find yourself questioning/doubting God in your life? What other sins did you see in this passage to avoid?
Heather is a contributing writer for Shaken & Stirred. She is a believer, a wife, and a mother to a wonderful (and sometimes crazy) one-year-old. She enjoys reading, playing video games, and listening to podcasts. She can usually be taking care of the home and playing on the floor with her daughter.