I recently spent the weekend visiting my sister, brother-in-law and two and a half year old nephew. By the end of the weekend it became very clear what ‘phase’ of childhood development into which he had entered: the infamous ‘But why?’ phase. If you’ve ever spent more than 24 hours straight with a toddler, you know what I am talking about. The sequence goes something like this:
Come put your shoes on…”But why?
”It’s time to eat dinner now…”But why?”
Don’t squeeze the dog so hard…”But why?”
I must admit, it was really cute–at first. But after the 17th “But why?” in a row, my patience suddenly shriveled up into the size of a tiny prune as I snapped back, “Why? Because I said so…THAT’S why!”
Moments later when I was feeling guilty for giving into my adult irritation, it dawned on me: I wasn’t much different than my nephew when it came to my relationship with God. I had been uttering the same repeated question up to Heaven in the midst of life’s circumstances:
- My friend’s mom was diagnosed with cancer…”But why God?”
- Dear friends of mine have endured 10 years worth of unsuccessful attempts to get pregnant…”But why God?”
- My former pastor was in a terrible accident paralyzing him from the waist down…”But why God?”
Sometimes it is hard to understand why God allows certain things to happen to us and to those whom we love. It is difficult to fathom why a loving God would allow so much pain and suffering in the world. Why wouldn’t He intervene? Why wouldn’t He do something? Why…why…why?
Honestly, I don’t why. The truth is, we won’t know the answers to many of our ‘why’ questions until the day we meet God in Heaven. It is a hard reality to swallow, but if we are going to continue on the journey of faith, we have to get to a point where we are okay with not knowing everything. Sometimes all we can do is find comfort in these words from the Lord Himself:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways…as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9
God simply asks us to lay down our need to understand why and trust that one day we will see things in their entirety from His perspective. It is not easy, but we can rest in the promise that when we do surrender our need to know all the answers and lift our questions and concerns to Him, the Bible says that His peace,
“…which surpasses all understanding,” will guard our hearts and minds from being jaded and destroyed by the darkness we see in the world.”
Philippians 4:7
What a gift. Sister, if you feel like you are drowning in some of life’s unfavorable circumstances, do not lose hope in the unwavering goodness and faithfulness of the God we serve. He is in and through ALL things–the good, the bad and the ugly–even when we don’t understand the nitty gritty of it all.
Feel the emotions. Face the pain. Go through the process of healing until you return to hope. Your choice to trust in His ways, which truly are so much higher than ours, will surely bring spiritual blessings of every kind to comfort and console your precious human heart until you are resting in His arms for all of eternity.
Practical Exercise:
Make a list called, “Questions to Ask God When I Get to Heaven.” List out all the questions that trouble your heart and plan on asking Him when you get to Heaven. Don’t hold back! Keep it accessible and add to it as more questions come up throughout your lifetime. Know that one day you will have all the answers!