Asking in Confidence

“Are there any questions?” I ask waiting in silence for eternity. Blank faces and glazed eyes stare back at me. “This is my favorite part, Miss. The part where you stand in front of us and ask if we have questions then wait” a quick-witted sarcastic girl says from the back of the class. I laugh and ask, “Why is it your favorite part?” Thinking to myself it’s honestly annoying. It’s causing me to question my day job. She smiles and boldly says, “Well, because we all have questions. We just don’t want to ask them until later.”

I mean, I get it. I can’t blame them. I remember sitting in class hyperventilating with sweaty palms and a racing heart, giving myself a pep talk before asking teachers questions. I can’t ask a store clerk for help when I’m lost on aisle 10. I can’t even ask after they say, “Are you finding everything all right?” No! I’m not! I need to find my contact solution and I can’t find it anywhere! Instead, I demurely respond with, “Yes, thank you.” I move on still lost. What is that? I’m a grown adult who can’t ask questions. Of course, my English 3 students feel the same way.

Why is it when The Lord tells us to ask, we can’t muster up the courage either? Jeremiah 6:16 tells us to follow up our standing and looking at the side of the road with asking. “…ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is…” Yeah, ok, God. I have questions for you. I have things I need. I have confusions. I have anger and hurt. I have curiosities and what-ifs. Yet, I pass God and demurely respond with, “It’s ok. I’m good.”

Asking. It’s vulnerable. It’s the first verb in this verse moving from silent observer to audible seeker. Suddenly we are not just standing on the side of the road. We are calling attention to ourselves. Eyes point in our direction when we ask questions out loud. Our voices are heard and suddenly we’re seen. Quite frankly, being seen is one of the scariest things. I blush at the drop of a compliment. If eyes fall on me I get awkward and insecure. If the God of the universe sees me, I’m beyond blushing and overwhelmed with insecurity. How can I possibly ask him anything?

I fear to ask him because I forget who I am as I stand in front of him.

1 John 3:19-23 says, “By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us” (emphasis mine).

I forget the truth I have inside of me. I forget to live out that truth daily. I forget he knows everything. He fully sees me and still loves me. I stand before God and usually reassure myself of all my flaws, shortcomings, and insecurities. I forget he is greater than everything I am not. My heart needs reassurance. The prefix re- means again. I need to remember again, and again the truth that he is greater. In my head, I know I can stand with confidence before God and ask. It’s my heart struggling to believe I can confidently ask. 

I predict my students often wait to ask questions because they don’t know what to ask. I find myself trying to teach them not just to ask questions but how to ask questions. “I don’t understand this” is not actually a question. It’s helplessness at its finest. “What do you not understand?” I kindly ask. “All of it” shoulders slumping with a student’s heavy sigh. I imagine myself asking God the same pseudo-questions. “ I don’t understand, God!” He gently probes me, “What do you not understand?” My heavy sigh breathes out, “All of it!”

Jeremiah 6:16 shows God instructing his people to ask for the ancient paths. This will lead them to the good way. I imagine this is a similar answer he would give me when I say, “I don’t understand… all of it!” He might encourage me to start by asking for the ancient paths, the good way. Start there. I stare back with glazed eyes knowing I have questions about that phrase but I’m too afraid to ask.

I know the phrase  “the ancient paths” could be unpacked on numerous levels. However, it reminds me of Exodus. We see the Israelites enslaved by the Egyptians. They are crying out to God. I imagine they are crying out for the good way. Freedom. Salvation. Rescue.

For them, the ancient path to freedom was a rushed and urgent exit via the Red Sea. It was a string of impossible events leading them away from slavery and towards freedom. There’s no way in their right mind any one of them imagined asking for freedom by walking across the Red Sea on dry ground….do you think? I just can’t fathom asking for an impossible event of that magnitude. Yet, he heard them asking. He saw them in their suffering. He moved.

When he encourages his people to ask for the ancient paths leading to the good way, he might be encouraging us to ask for impossible events leading to our freedom. Are we daring enough to ask for the unimaginable? Can we stand with the confidence of his greatness and ask for rescue? He wants us to ask because he’s waiting to give.

We are all like my students in class: full of questions yet waiting to ask. Perhaps we wait out of fear, uncertainty, stubbornness, or pride. It could be anything keeping us from asking. Let’s lay down whatever it is and just ask.

God, reassure our hearts of your greatness in the midst of our failures. Remind us we are fully seen by you and loved. There’s no place for blushing cheeks, sweaty palms, and racing hearts caused by fear and shame. We are worthy of being seen by you because you love us. You encourage us to ask. Fill us with your spirit so we can confidently stand before you asking for the ancient paths that lead to the good ways. Let us ask for the unimaginable and impossible. Let us ask for freedom. Let us ask for you to move. You are waiting to give.

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