Life happens. Things go wrong. Sometimes, things don’t go wrong; they just don’t seem to go right. All the stuff that comes into our lives can cause us to ask questions of God. That’s okay because God is not afraid of our questions. However, I have found that there is one question that God seldom answers and one that He almost always will.

Why?

When unpleasant events in life happen, we start to demand answers.

“Why did You let my child die?”

“Why did that person get the promotion and not me?”

“Why did You let that person get into political office?”

“Why didn’t You heal my sister?”

I get it. It is perfectly natural for us to want to know why things happen. However, I have found that the “why” question is one that God seldom answers. I believe there are a few reasons for this.

First, the God whose throne is established on righteousness and justice (Psalm 89:14) is under no obligation to explain Himself. We are accountable to Him. He is not accountable to us.

Second, we likely wouldn’t understand it even if He did tell us. Our finite minds are simply not equipped to understand the wisdom of God. And let’s not forget Isaiah 55:8 – 9.

⁸ “Indeed, my plans are not like your plans,
and my deeds are not like your deeds,” says the Lord,
⁹ “for just as the sky is higher than the earth,
so my deeds are superior to your deeds
and my plans superior to your plans.” NET

Third, the answer to why provides us with information but little more. It doesn’t give us any way to move forward. We are left stuck in the situation.

A Better Question

I believe there is a better question to ask when the troubles of life show up. Instead of asking why, how about asking “What now?”

“Our child has died, what now?”

“I didn’t get the promotion, what now?”

“That individual is in political power, what now?”

“My sister is not getting better, what now?”

It has been my finding that the Father will almost always answer this question. This question opens us up to receive concrete direction from our loving Heavenly Father. It puts us in the place to receive a download of His wisdom that will have practical and helpful implications. And very often, when we follow the Lord’s directions, the understanding as to why something happened will suddenly become clear.

Bring God Your Questions

You are God’s child and He loves you. Go ahead and bring Him your questions. Just make sure they are good questions that will receive good answers. After all, interacting with the Father in the midst of life’s questions is one of the great privileges of living in the Reign.

M

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.