Misunderstandings

WHY, GOD?

There are things that we can’t and don’t understand. Can we all just admit that fact? There are things that happen in this life that will never understand. We don’t know why so many bad things happen—why people get cancer, why someone dies, why parents get a divorce, why…why…why? Why does God, if He is so great, let these kinds of things happen?
I don’t have an exact answer because obviously I’m not God. But, we do have a book that was inspired by Him and shows us His heart. Maybe something in the Word can help us understand why these kinds of things happen? We'll look at what God's Word says in a second...

As we look back on our lives we are sure to have questions about our lives. Most of us hold onto things of the past—asking God, “Why on earth would you ever let that happen to me? Why did you let it get so bad? Why didn’t you stop it?”

The other day I had a friend ask me just this. We were talking about our pasts and I told him that I would not change anything in my past for anything in the world. He told me that he had some major regrets in his past that he wishes he could go back and change. He asked me why God would let him get addicted to cocaine and oxycotin. It definitely made me stop and think. This is something about God I am asked all the time.

I thought about my own life. Why don’t I have regrets? Why wouldn’t I change anything? My simple answer was the fact that everything from my past has made me who I am today. Sometimes I get embarrassed about things I’ve done before, but the truth is, if God had never brought me through those things, or allowed me to follow the paths I’d chosen for myself, then I would not be the same person today. I would not have the same relationships, knowledge about certain situations, or passions. I would never have realized just how much I needed God and how empty and worthless I am without Him. There is a reason behind all of the workings of our Great God, even if we cannot see it at the present.

I have seen so many times how God uses our past struggles and tough times for His glory. Maybe He is using your past for your own sake. Maybe He used that experience to show you how much you needed Him. Maybe if you had never gone through that experience you would have never seen how much He loves you and how much you needed His grace. Or maybe He is working in you for the sake of others. Maybe you will be able to relate to someone like no one else ever could. Maybe He will use your experience to help others who have been where you’ve been—to show them that there is hope—that He loves, He cares, and He saves.

IN THE WORD

What are you going through right now that you don’t understand? Like Job, in the Bible, we go through those things. If you are going through something like that right now, or are struggling with the past, you should read this passage (the entire passage is in Job 38-42). Read it as if the Lord is speaking directly to you, because this is what He would say to us. “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much…Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east?...Who then can stand up to me? Who has given me anything that I need to pay back? Everything under heaven is mine…” Job 38-42. We don’t know exactly why God is doing what He is, but He has created everything under heaven. He knows how it all works together. His plan is perfect. He promises that He has the best for us “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” Jeremiah 29:11.

Times may not always be easy—they may be terrible, in fact. Bad things happen and we don’t know why—we may never find out. We can ask God why when we see His face one day. Maybe once we get to heaven it will all make sense? Maybe he brings us through things to prepare us for what is ahead. Maybe He brings us through suffering to give us wisdom to pass on and a heart for others who go through the same things that we have gone through. It’s all a part of His perfect, magnificent, and eternal plan. “Everything was already determined and decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use in arguing with God about your destiny” Ecclesiastes 6:10. We may be angry at God because of the situations we are in, but don’t forget that He is the one who has always been there with you. As you may have heard before, Jesus never promised that following Him or this life would be easy; but He did say this: “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” John 16:3. Despite our circumstances, we have hope in Him—Jesus, who has already overcome this world.

HIS PROMISES

What we do know, and can have hope in, is that there is a God who is always there to carry us through it all. He gives us a shoulder to cry on. He is always listening to our prayers. He does not let the things of this world crush us and defeat us. “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven into despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9. He is there with us.

There are so many examples of God using people through their struggles in the Bible: Elizabeth having a son, and God brings one to them at just the right time (Genesis 17-21); King David—when he was being hunted by Saul learned to rely on God, when David had nothing left (1 Samuel 19-31); Hagar—learned of the Lord’s faithfulness and love for her when she was alone and pregnant in the desert (Genesis 16); Ruth—when she was faithful and God brought her the unexpected gift of love and a husband (Ruth 1-4); The Bible is filled with testimonies of the Lord’s great faithfulness and of His unending love for His people. The world is filled with stories of an amazing God who, though we may have forgotten him, He has never forgotten us. You should read these stories or ask a fellow Christian about the things that God has done through the rough spots in their lives. It will amaze you just how faithful God is and how powerful He is through our times of need. It always makes my jaw drop to read and hear the stories.

So instead of focusing on our circumstances and our troubles, let us focus on our Lord who is ever-faithful. “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18. This is one of my favorite verses, because it reminds me is that this world and what I see before me is not all that there is. Although this world may beat us down, we have a God who gives us unending love and eternal life in Him. What is promised but unseen is eternal makes my heart sing.

So, when you are going through troubles, ask our God to give you an eternal perspective. Ask Him to help you see through your circumstances, and look to Him. Have joy in knowing that you have a God with a great plan. Stay strong in Him, who is our refuge. And "let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap the harvest if we do not give up" Galatians 6.

“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.” Psalm 62:5-7

Here is a great song by Josh Wilson that talks a lot about God's plan through our tough times. Listen to the lyrics! "The pain that you've been feeling is just the dark before the morning...."