Fatal Questions

Whenever I read the question of Pharoah in Exodus 5:2 I shudder. He asked, "Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice...?" Now the question in and of itself may not be a bad one. It would be good to genuinely inquire who the Lord is to determine if He ought to be followed and obeyed. But Pharoah's question was not one of an inquirer. It was one from someone with a hard heart. It was the fatal question of one who wanted to retain sovereignty in his own life. Pharoah's question was really a statement of lordship. He would not let another king rule him in any way. In the end his question cost him much including the life of his son.
In Job 22, in Eliphaz's discourse about the wicked, we ran into several other fatal questions . He said the wicked ask, "What does God know? Can He judge through the deep darkness? What can the Almighty do to us?" These are the questions of unbelief. They assume there is no God, but if there is, they assume He is not aware. And even if He is aware, they deceive themselves into thinking He will not act or judge on what He knows. These, too, are fatal questions because they reveal a hard heart. They reveal a heart that is bent on doing its own thing, all the while trying to convince itself that there will be no consequences for such willfulness.
In contrast to these fatal responses to the Lord, we find several in Luke 8 which are exemplary. The man who was healed of the demons is said to be "sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind". Later this man begs Jesus that he might be with him, but when sent away goes out proclaiming what great things the Lord had done for him.
Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, finds Jesus and falls at His feet and implores him to have mercy on his daughter who was dying. This is the same place we find the woman who had an issue of blood. She falls down before the Lord and declares her faith in Jesus and testifies to her subsequent healing.
Each of these responses show a heart that is right. Sitting at the feet of Jesus, throwing ourselves at His feet - these motions show a heart that recognizes Jesus for who He is, and a willingness to place oneself under His lordship and care.
In which of today's characters do you see yourself? Are you asking fatal questions showing your hardness of heart, or are you prostrating yourself before the Lord, acknowledging His right to rule and reign in your life? Are you looking to yourself and your resources to fill up yourself , or are you looking to Jesus as the only source of the fullness of life? These are important questions to consider. They get to the "heart" of the matter. May the Lord use them to produce His heart and life in us!