Are You Asking the Right Question?

“The wise man doesn’t give the right answers, he poses the right questions.” - Claude Levi-Strauss

You cannot find the right answer if you don’t ask the right question. My son is five years old, and his favorite question is how. No matter what he’s trying to ask you. It will always come out as how. There are times I will have to correct him and say you mean why or where or what. Because I know I cannot answer his question correctly unless he asks the right question. Sometimes I think of that scene in the movie IRobot where Will Smith is trying to ask the hieroglyphic questions to find out how he was killed. But every question he asked, it responded with “you’re not asking the right question” When Will Smith finally got to the right question, even though it still made no sense, it responded with, “now you’re asking the right question.” It led him to begin the path to actually finding out who killed him, how and why. I will not give away the end. Please watch the movie. It’s a fantastic movie.

On a daily basis I ask God what feels like a million questions in the same way our kids ask us parents. But I’m starting to realize I need to be asking God the right questions. For the longest time, my question was always ‘what is my calling? What is my purpose?’ Big broad questions will give you big broad answers. I found myself confused a lot. Confused about being on the wrong path. Was I supposed to stay here or was I supposed to move to something else. I love writing so much. But I also love pouring into others and serving. To me it felt like I needed to choose one or the other. Funny enough, I didn’t ask the question “do I need to choose?” Without the right question being asked, I could not receive the right answer of what I was searching for. Hence, all of my confusion.

Sadly, once confusion sets in, it can lead to more confusing moments.

Our clarity comes from the aha moment when you receive your big beautiful answer. So how do you find out what the right question is? To get to the right question, and this may sound crazy, is to keep asking questions.

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

Don’t limit who or where you ask your questions. I’ve received answers through the Bible, people, sermons, podcasts, life circumstances, even nature…yes, nature. It can also come through pain, mistakes, joy, and laughter. God uses all and everything, because He is constantly speaking to us. He cannot wait to have a conversation with you. So never stop seeking.

Whatever it is that you are seeking right now, the right question is out there. And once someone either gives you the right question or you end up, asking the right question yourself, you will receive the answer. At the point of writing this post, my question was, “what is my calling?”. The answer I received in return was to ask “what is my purpose in this season?”. It blew my mind because that new question changed everything for me. It also helped me learn that you don’t have one purpose for life, but possibly one per season. And just like that, I was growing in a way I did not imagine.

It felt so satisfying having a response. Even though it meant, I was going to begin a journey on another path, I had a path. I was no longer stuck at a wall, confused. Don’t always expect your answer to be a full sentence. Sometimes your answer will come in a way you do not expect.