Why?

Why?

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 

Psalm 8:3-4

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life?

It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

James 4:14

 Our present world is sometimes perplexing. Current events, facing mortality of a loved one, or frustrating situations without a solution can cause us to wonder why? Why would a loving God allow unfathomable incidents to occur that are beyond our ability to understand? Why is this happening to me? Why am I here on this earth? Worse, some who know the Bible, especially the Old Testament, have wondered how the Lord would lead His chosen people, the Children of Israel, into seemingly endless battles destroying cities and thousands of people? Or, why couldn’t God have intervened to rescue Stephen before his stoning or even save His only Son from a cruel death on the Cross? Why would a compassionate, forgiving God allow these horrible things to happen?

When confronted with these queries, it’s hard to explain a reasonable answer, especially to someone who has not felt the Lord’s presence in their lives. But consider this: If God, the Creator of every person and this entire world can order the ocean tides to flow in and out every six hours, or the moon to wax and wane every month, or the sun to rise and set every single day for the past 6,000 years without fail, then why wouldn’t He also have an order for each of our lives? As Creator, why wouldn’t He have the authority to order our lives for His purpose and plans?

Some may argue the very notion of creation, but something cannot evolve from nothing. Others may argue that the Bible is just a book of bedtime stories that weren’t necessarily true. Consider the account in Genesis 17 of Moses, Aaron, and Hur when God stopped the sun for about a half day, and in Joshua 10 when God stopped the sun for an entire day when Joshua was fighting the Amorites. If these accounts were fictional, then why does our calendar still reflect a leap year every four years to account for the disparity in time? Why do non-believing scientists recognize that there is no explanation for this and the Julian calendar we live by every day was developed to compensate for the lost time? Even science has no explanation other than deeming it a supernatural event.

God has tried in so many ways to reach out to each one of us, inviting us to “Come now, and let us reason together …” (Isaiah 1:18) as He invited us to do through his Prophet Isaiah’s words. There are resolutions to these dilemmas. The answers can only be found through a leap of faith and a mind that is willing to take the risk to test and trust the Lord, to “O taste and see that the Lord is good …” (Psalm 34:8).

We can yield to Him our past because He is a forgiving God, and our past can be wiped clean without guilt or regrets. We can trust Him with our future because He is trustworthy and will provide for our every need and bless us abundantly as we live for Him and accomplish His purpose for our life. We can give Him each day we live because He is a faithful God and His presence will be with us. He will lead us through each day no matter what we are facing, and He protects us in so many ways we may not even notice when accidents or injuries are avoided. We can offer him our present because every single day is a gift from God. His love is unconditional and everlasting for each one of us. You can place your name in the blank: For God so loved ____________, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

Why would God do that? As you ponder that, you can ask God that question for yourself. Then if you just open your thoughts and heart to take the risk to believe, you will find out why: Because He loves you. The question isn’t Why?  It’s Why not?