Have you asked God, “Why?”

Questions are a normal part of life; especially in the midst of situations we don’t understand. During hardship, it can be difficult to reconcile our belief in a good and righteous God with the facts of life as we see them.  At such times, it’s not unusual to wrestle with doubts and to ask God, “Why?”  We wonder, “Why does a good God allow evil things to occur?” “If God is all powerful, why doesn’t he stop people in their lawlessness and their mad rush for power?” “Why does God seem silent in the midst of trouble?” “Why do the bad guys seem to win and the wicked people seem to prosper?”

The prophet Habakkuk asked such questions of God and he received answers.  Habakkuk was bewildered by the evil he saw running rampant in Judah.  When he brought his honest questions to God, God responded. However, Habakkuk was neither ready for, nor did he completely comprehend,  the answers he was given. Habakkuk complained to God about the sinfulness of the people of Judah and God’s lack of action in correcting it. He  asked God, “Must I forever see this sin and misery all around me and why do you idly look at wrong?” (Habakkuk 1:3). God responded that He was doing something Habakkuk would be astounded by. He was bringing the cruel Babylonians to power and they would overrun his people, thus bringing God’s justice and correction upon them (Hab 1:5-11).  This really bewildered Habakkuk. How could God use evil to bring about a good purpose? Would God really allow the wicked to destroy people more righteous than them? (Hab 1:13).

What’s so beautiful about Habakkuk is that he didn’t run away from God or doubt God’s character in the midst of things he did not understand.  Instead, he trusted that God would clarify things for him.  Having asked God his questions, Habakkuk said, “I will climb into my watchtower and wait to see what the LORD will say to me and how he will answer my complaint,” (Hab 2:1).  G. Campbell Morgan once said that when Habakkuk looked at his circumstances he was perplexed (1:3), but when he waited for God and listened to Him, he sang (3:18-19).  God responded by admitting the wickedness of the Babylonians, but declared that they would eventually destroy themselves through their own evil. Pride and cruelty always lead to destruction. (Hab 2:2-20).

What becomes clear in the book of Habakkuk is that people sometimes have to wait to know what the final outcome of things will be.  While God may seem slow to act by our standards, time is not an issue for him. God sometimes takes ages to show his plans. As the apostle Peter said, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day,” (2 Peter 3:8). Though it may seem that the wicked are winning, in the end they are doomed. During such times of trial, God is testing and refining his people.  Hardship always brings out who we really are and reveals what we really believe.  God’s direction to us whether in the good times or bad is to live out an everyday trust in him.  “The righteous will live by his faith,” (Hab 2:4).

Habakkuk believed God and rejoiced that God answered Him. He trusted that God knew what He was doing by bringing the Babylonians against his people and that in the end things would work for the good.  Habakkuk looked past the hardship to the restoration that would occur. “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He will make me as sure footed as a deer and bring me safely over the mountains.” (Hab. 3:17-19).

When you experience trials, remember that God is in control of the universe and he is working out his own plan in his own time. I encourage you, like Habakkuk, to trust God in the midst of your hardship. Live by faith! It’s okay to bring your honest questions to the Lord but be sure to wait for his answers and know that it often takes time for God’s program to be revealed. When mystified by it all, remember that God’s thoughts are above our thoughts and God’s ways are above our ways (Isaiah 55:9).  And trust 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).

What’s the Point?

The past eight months have been a painful trial for me.  I have struggled through my first extended physical illness.  Despite the many healthy changes I’ve made to my diet in recent years, I had to completely overhaul my eating.   Food has been a source of comfort and joy to me over the years; particularly sugar.  The biggest challenge in changing my diet has been the stripping away of every comfort food I have enjoyed.  I really had no idea how much food meant to me until it was taken away.

In the midst of this personal health crisis, it feels as if all hell has broken loose in other areas of life also.  The medical challenges our family incurred over the past several years have led to extreme financial stress.  We’ve had family issues, sick dogs, dying computers (the children attend a school that requires working computers), broken old cars, isolation from others, minor depression, lack of vision, and to top it off, a month long case of severe poison ivy.   I have never experienced a season where the book of Job so resonated with me. 

Yet the most challenging aspect of this season has been my perception of God’s distance from me.  I know he has not moved because Christ lives in me.  But the normal, intimate relationship I have always shared with him has seemed increasingly quiet and almost dormant.   I have searched my life for sin that would rupture our relationship and that which I discovered I have repented of and changed.  But in general, there isn’t any major flaw in our relationship; except he seems distant.   A few times, when the pain was particularly bad, I have been tempted to throw up my hands and cry out, “What’s the point?” “Why is this happening?”

1 Peter 4:2 says, “Think of your suffering as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way,” (The Message). My own suffering appears to be accomplishing this.  If it doesn’t cause you to “curse God and die” as Job’s wife foolishly counseled, suffering is proficient at stripping you of “expecting to get your own way.” Peter tells us that as we faithfully endure this self-stripping, we become truly available to God’s purposes in our lives. “Then you’ll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want,” (1Peter 4:3 Msg).

Continuing to discover that I am not in control (all life teaches us this!) gives me the opportunity to choose the freedom of resting in Him.  I can rest knowing that Christ already suffered through this and I am receiving the privilege of joining him in that.  Despite how I feel, I choose to trust his goodness and care for me. I choose to trust that He has a plan that He is busy working out in my life and the lives of those I love.  I know based on God’s Word that this time of trial is working good things for me.  I don’t write these things lightly… it hasn’t come easily. But I know it to be true.

Be encouraged today.  No matter what you are going through, God has you in his sight.  His love for you was demonstrated and forever declared in space and time through the suffering of his Son on the cross. As Peter writes, “When life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner,” (1 Peter 4:13).