Over
the past 35 years of ministry, I have often found myself asking the question,
why? Sometimes there is a simple answer, or at least it seems like a simple
answer on the surface. I made a certain decision, and this is the outcome of
that decision. At other times, there doesn’t seem to be an answer to the
question. Job, for example, was never given a reason for why he had to face all
of the suffering that he did. We know, but he did not. Sometimes, God gives us
a glimpse of the why. That was the case for Joseph. After many years of
hardship and pain, God elevated him to the second highest position in Egypt.
When he finally revealed himself to his brothers, they we terrified. Instead of
punishing them, Joseph put his life’s circumstances into a bigger picture.
But
Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You
intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now
being done, the saving of many lives. Genesis 50:19-20
When
we are faced with negative situations, such as what happened recently in
Dallas, I fall back on the truth that we live in a sinful, fallen world, and
that these are the consequences of that.
Furthermore, since they did not
think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a
depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with
every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy,
murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters,
insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey
their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although
they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death,
they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who
practice them. Romans 1:28-32
When
Christians get caught up in negative situations, I remind myself that we are
part of this fallen world and face the consequences right along with everyone
else. In fact, as Christians, we can expect, at times, to be the target.
"Then
you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be
hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the
faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear
and deceive many people. Matthew 24:9-11
When
things happen closer to home, the why question begins to loom large. Although I
can see the answer in the big picture, it does not satisfy me completely. I
would prefer a much more specific answer. I can understand why things happen in
general, but I want to know why they happen to me.
Not
all of my why questions are negative. Some of them are more questions of
puzzlement. Such as, why has God allowed me to stay at my church for 29 years,
when the norm for evangelical pastors is 8-10 years. Or why has God blessed our
family with relatively few major problems, when other families seem to have
more than their share?
Throughout
the Bible, when people have come to God with why questions, He has answered
them in basically the same way. Instead of giving a specific answer to their
question, He invites them to trust Him. When people ask why, God responds “I am
with you. Do not be afraid.”
When
Paul, a man who had been given the power to heal others, was faced with his own
“thorn in the flesh” he called out to God to remove it. Instead of removing it,
God promised Paul that He was with him. Instead of complaining, Paul chose to
trust God.
To
keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great
revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to
torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he
said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect
in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my
weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's
sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in
difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Cor. 12:7-10
Romans
8:28 is a verse that we often pull out when bad things happen. We use it as
some kind of a salve to smooth over the situation. But it is really the answer
to all of the why questions of life. It is a call to genuinely trust God. And we know that in all things God works for
the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
Some
day we may get the answer to all of our why questions, or we may not. One thing
I can genuinely say is that, if we will truly trust God, we will experience the
good, which He intends for us.
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