Why?

It’s a question ingrained in us from the time we were toddlers, back when Mom would tell us to eat our vegetables and Dad would warn us not to play in the street. Why? 

The older we get, the more complicated the questions, from relationships and family, to pain, disease, and death. But each one of these questions boils down to one basic word: Why?

If God is good, why are things like COVID-19 around?
How can God be real if He let me lose my mom to suicide?
Why did my baby die?
Why do bad things happen to good people?

We love to ask the question ”Why?” but inevitably, we hate the response. Any response. Because when we ask the question “Why?” we don’t really want to know the answer. What we really want to know is: “Why would a God who supposedly loves me allow me to feel this kind of pain?”

Unfortunately, in a sinful world, pain is unavoidable. God warned Adam and Eve of this truth as far back as Genesis (Genesis 3: 16-19). Because of sin, there is no such thing as a perfectly smooth road trip through life. There are no stretches of highway without bumps, potholes, roadkill, blown tires, road construction, and even an accident or two in this life. Just as there are mountain-top moments of joy, there will be valleys of sorrow, even though that’s the part of the journey we’d all rather skip.

Jesus Himself warned his disciples in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble.” Later, one of those disciples, Peter, wrote in a letter to the early Christians: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” (1 Peter 4:12)

There is no way around it; just as Job, Elijah, Jonah, Paul, and countless other Christians from the beginning of the church until now have experienced, there will be moments in life that make us want to question, much like Jesus as He hung from the cross, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46) 

This is NOT a fun topic. Neither is the answer. But the answer is important. Without an answer to this crucial question, many Christians go on to spend years floundering on a sea of anguish, bitterness, and discontentment that could eventually drown them. You probably know some of them. I do.

So what is the hated answer to this question “Why?” (And be prepared; I warned you that you would hate it.) Everything that happens in our lives is either for our good or His glory.

Everything? 

Everything.

Romans 8:28 reminds us that “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Did you catch that? All things. Even the things that seem pointless, painful, or even completely destructive.

So what is the purpose of suffering?

First, our weakness and sufferings can reveal HIS glory to others. 2 Corinthians 4:6-9 states, 

“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in 

our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 

Did you catch that? God uses our fragile human bodies and our simple human problems to shine His glory through us to others. And in this same section, He also promises that despite all these seemingly unbearable troubles, we will not be destroyed! What a promise to cling to in the midst of a valley!

Second, our weakness and sufferings can someday provide comfort to others.

In this way, even the most painful circumstance can have purpose, even though we might not be able to see it when we’re in the midst of the storm. The apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1: 3-4, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

Because not only are our lives a journey; they are also much like a puzzle. We may not understand each piece that shows up randomly in our lives. But God is the One who is putting this puzzle of our lives together and, in His omniscience, He can see the completed picture that we cannot. It’s up to us to trust Him through the confusion, heartache, and pain.

But how can I trust Him through the pain?

Two truths to remember in the midst of a “Why?” moment:

1. God loves you more than you could ever imagine (Romans 8:37-39, I John 4:16).
2. God will help you handle all that you’ve been given. (Isaiah 41:10).

When the days are darker than any night, when you feel like you have lost all hope, when you can no longer see the road that lies ahead of you, stop looking at the road.

Look up. 

Romans 8:18 promises that “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” In the midst of our suffering, sometimes we just need a gentle reminder: What is bigger: our problems or our God?

I’m going to go with our God. He’s never failed to get me over a pothole or a bumpy strip of road this far.

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