DOES GOD EXIST?
Have you ever asked yourself such a question? Has anyone ever asked you such a question?
It was Friday, 22 May 2020, when I last came across that question. It was on Twitter and a South African Radio Show host challenged his listeners to that question. It looked like he was triumphing over professed Christians as no one could successfully answer that question according to his standards.
A Selfish Prayer
As a Christian soldier, I interpreted that as a sound of war. I felt like I immediately needed to get onto the battlefield. However, like any other soldier, I had to first get the instruction from the Commander In Chief or Great General, Christ, so I prayed. In my selfish prayer I asked God to give me wisdom to answer the question on Twitter. While I prayed, I was inspired to pray that God would send one of his other soldiers to call the show and give an answer to the question. At that time I had to remember that I was not the only Christian soldier, there were others, even in South Africa. I was also reminded of Elijah when he fled from Jezebel. He said to God that he was the only remaining prophet of God. At that time Jezebel had killed a large number of the prophets of God. God told him that he was not the only one as He had 7000 other prophets who had not bowed down the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:9–18).
DIVINE REVELATION
I thought about this issue more and on Tuesday, 26 August 2020, I finally got wisdom with regards to this issue. The revelation/ wisdom was as follows:
i) Which God?
The first question is “Which God are you referring to”? There are more than 5000 gods worshiped by human beings on this earth. As a Christian, you cannot speak for other gods but your own. Establishing the context before answering a question is very important.
ii) Reasons for Question
You will also need to search for reasons behind the question. What led the person to ask the question? What events or circumstances in that person’s life led them to ask the question?
iii) Response to Answer
You also need to find out the possible responses to the answer, i.e. when you get the answer to your question, what are you going to do about it? If God doesn’t exist, what will you do? If God does exist, what will you do about it?
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iv) Significance of Answer
You need to understand why the answer is of any significance or importance to the person. “Why is it so important that you get an answer to this question?”
v) Personal Thoughts
You would then need to get insight into the person’s personal thoughts. You would ask questions such as, “What do you think?” “Why do you have such a thought?” “What led you to that conclusion?” In this instance, you are trying to establish whether there may be any preconceived ideas or beliefs that would prevent the person from accepting the truth even with all the evidence given.
The above mentioned questions will help you deal with the deep seated issues of the heart and mind. Instead of giving a general answer, you would give a personalized answer and reach the depths of the soul.
TESTING THE SPIRITS
If you remember, I said that I got a revelation or wisdom. How do I know that I was inspired by the Spirit of God and not some strange spirit? 1John 4:1 says that we need to test the spirits whether they are from God or not. How do we test them? Isaiah 8:20 says “to the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them”. The question was, was my revelation in line with the scriptures? As I thought upon this, my mind was taken back to Luke 10:25–37. Most of us know that passage as “The Parable of the Good Samaritan”. When Jesus was tempted by the lawyer, who asked what one should do to get eternal life, He didn’t immediately give an answer. Instead he asked some questions. “ What is written in the law?” “How readest thou?” Jesus was not ignorant of the answer to the question that was asked. Instead He chose to deal with the deep seated matters of the heart and mind. “What is written in the law?” means, “Did you read the law?” “What have you read in the law?” “What is the literal statement of the law?” “How readest thou?” means, “What is your understanding or interpretation of what you have read?” The parable of the Good Samaritan is actually a personalized response to another question, “Who is my neighbor?” The parable is personalized in terms of the lawyer’s context, surroundings and understanding. At the end of the passage, you would actually see that the lawyer answered his own questions.
COUNSEL FOR CHRISTIANS
The President of the Cape Conference of Seventh Day Adventists in South Africa(around 2017- 2021), Dr J Papu, encouraged us not to be angry when we are confronted with challenging questions. When we don’t know the answer, we must admit ignorance for that particular moment, and then go to God and ask him for the answers to those questions. When we get the answers those questions, we need to go back and share them with those who asked. His counsel is in line with James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him”. We need to understand that humans are intelligent beings who will always have questions. The Bible says that the secret things belong to God but those things that are revealed belong to us and our children forever (Deuteronomy 29:29). This means that the things that God has revealed are meant to be understood. No one has physically seen God but He is revealed to us in the Scriptures. It is therefore not an unusual thing that people should question His existence. There is an answer to every question, all you need to do is go to God and ask Him, and wait until He gives you the answers.
CONCLUSION
What then is the answer to the radio show host’s question, Does God exist? It is written, “And ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13, KJV). If the radio show host or any other person sincerely wants to know whether God exists or not, they will surely know. Some people may require special kind of evidence. This evidence may be influenced by the educational background, culture or any other factors influencing the person’s life. God can give it to them.
In my own personal experience, I know that God exists. Each person needs to have their own personal experience and they can know for themselves whether God exists or not. Your duty is to work only as the Lord God guides you. You should never ever try to explain the things of God in accordance with your own knowledge or wisdom.
