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Why – Part 1
Thinking of our granddaughter who is now 4 years old, I am reminded of the inquisitive mind of a child. She is now at that stage where she wants answers and explanations to almost anything. This off course means that the word WHY, has now become part of her vocabulary.
As a parent and now grandmother, we can answer most questions or give a reasonable answer to her, WHY? However, there are instances where we can’t explain or satisfy the inquisitive mind asking the question. Those instances often result in answers such as: “That’s just the way it is” or “I don’t know, but I trust that……” This might work for a 4-yr old but when you deal with matters of the heart, and the more difficult things of this world as adults, it is not as easy a 1, 2, 3 and off you go as if you were a 4-year-old.
According to the Oxford Online Dictionary, the adverb WHY, means for what reason or purpose. Thinking about this, I am taken to a story in the Bible. I am probably most fascinated yet confused about one specific story in the Bible and that is the story about Job. I mean, that guy had so much faith in God.
He lost everything but his life. Yet, as we read in Job 13:15 he says: Though He slay me, yet I will hope in Him. What a storm and great torment Job must have gone through. No doubt he was a man of great faith. The confusing part for me has always been why? I mean, God knew that Job loved Him and would never forsake Him. We read this in Job 1:1 – 12:
In the land of Uz, there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom. One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have You not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?
You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out Your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse You to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
When we read this passage, God knew, Job knew, but satan thought. You see, in thinking that you know for sure, it opens room for doubt and fear, which ultimately also can lead to heartsore and destruction. But by knowing something for sure, it brings steadfastness and faith. This does not mean that there are no storms that you must face or mountains that you must climb. In Job’s story it is very clear that storms do rage but the question is whether we can remain firm in our faith, throughout the storms of life.
So, what is a storm? According to the Oxford Online Dictionary, it is a “violent disturbance of the atmosphere with strong winds and usually rain, thunder, lightning or snow.” When I read this, I hear violent, disturbance and strong winds. This tells me that when you go through the storms of life, it brings you off balance, affects your visibility and hearing and it falls on you, creating pain inside out.
Is this you today? Are you going through such a storm in your life today? If you feel that the storms in your life are raging so fierce that you don’t hear God’s voice anymore, neither see Him, then know this today, He is there, right there, with you in the storm. Sometimes, we must go through storms, to shape us, heal us and strengthen us, just like Job.
Is it nice, off course not! Is it painful and feels that you can’t bear it anymore? Off course! But God promises to you today, to never leave, nor forsake you (Joshua 1:5) and that when you trust Him in the storm, He will bring you through it.
He says so in 1 Corinthians 10:13: No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
Do we have all the answers to WHY? No! But God has all the answers and today, He wants you to trust Him, just like Job did. Job’s faith was rewarded and if you trust God unconditionally, your faith will be rewarded, just like Job’s.
Why – Part 2
In November 2013 there was a Typhoon by name of Haiyan that hit the Philippines. In the Philippines it was known as Super Typhoon Yolanda, one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. On making landfall, it devastated portions of Southeast Asia, killing at least 6 300 people in the Philippines alone.
According to Wikipedia, in January 2014, bodies were still being found. The highest winds recorded at 230 km/h was sustained for 10 minutes. This typhoon caused damage of US$ 2.98 billion. Reading this sad yet true story, I hear devastation, pain, severe loss and probably many questions as to WHY? We might never know the reason, but I know that God knows why.
Many times, we never get reasons for WHY things happen in our lives. When we read of the story of Job in the Bible, he did not get an answer to why he had to go through “hell” and loose everything but his life. Job must have thought that he was punished for his children’s mistakes. However, God is just, and each person will give account for his/her own decisions and actions in life. In Job’s case it was about satan wanting to prove that God and Job were wrong.
However, God knew, and Job knew and hence, satan who thought he was right, was the one who had it wrong. Was it easy for Job to go through what he did? Off course not! I don’t even want to think how it must have felt, losing everything that you love. I also know that it must not have been easy for God either, having to see His faithful servant go through so much loss and pain.
But here is the thing: Job did not give up! He continued to serve God, to love Him and trust Him. How great the faith of Job who stood firm till the end, living out the Word of God in Isaiah 7:9, which says that if we do not stand firm in our faith, we will not stand at all.
Sometimes when we ask God WHY we need to go through things, He answers and other times, He is silent. The reality is that many things happen because of our own bad decisions and actions. We read about this throughout the Bible, how God’s people moved away from Him and His decrees, only to find themselves in danger, lack and loss. Then we read that as soon as a leader who chose to follow God, stood up in faith and followed God’s Word and instructions, a nation followed.
This resulted in repentance and when the shift took place, God’s people once again experienced His favour and abundance of blessings. As I read these experiences repeating themselves in the Bible, I think to myself, WHY? Why is this repeatedly recorded in the Bible? I realised that it is human nature to fall, doubt and make mistakes. God knows these things and hence, He repeats history, so that we can learn from the past in hope that we will choose a better and brighter future by following Him and keeping our faith in Him.
We often ask ourselves as adults, why we need to repeat ourselves when we speak with our kids. We want to say things only once and hope it sinks in. However, think about it; is this not exactly what God our Father must be thinking about us, His children? I mean, we are His kids, and He tells us, shows us and guides us over and over not to make the same mistakes and yet we do.
Why do we read His Word and yet we don’t apply His instructions in our lives? Does it not every time, end up in us finding ourselves in trouble, lack and difficulties? Reading from Jeremiah 5:1 – 9, we see an example of why people find themselves in trouble:
““Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city. Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ still they are swearing falsely.” Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction.
They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent. I thought, “These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God. So, I will go to the leaders and speak to them; surely, they know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God.” But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds. Therefore, a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns to tear to pieces any who venture out, for their rebellion is great and their backslidings many.
“Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes. They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man’s wife. Should I not punish them for this?” declares the Lord. “Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”
When I read this passage, it hits hard. Is this not the story of our lives? Not only is this what happens in the world, our countries and workplaces, but it is what is happening in our everyday lives. We know what we must do to live a happy and prosperous life and yet we make wrong decisions, knowing very well that there will be consequences.
My call today, is that we turn back to God and His Word. Let us allow Him to guide us, instruct us and then eat the fruit of His blessings. Let us not delay in calling on Him. He says in Jeremiah 29:12 – 14 and Jeremiah 33:3 that when we call on Him with all our hearts, He will be found by us and tell us things that we did not know.
Why – Part 3
We think we know better and although we know what God expects from us as His children, we so often still choose the wrong path. As we read Jeremiah 5:1 – 9, we saw the reaction from God, when His people, who are called by His name, did not follow Him and His decrees. They worshipped other gods, swore falsely, were dishonest and so the list goes on.
The result was devastating for them as a nation, and we must not forget that innocent children received the consequences of their parents’ wrong decisions, carrying over curses from one generation to the next. God is very clear in this passage what the consequences are of not following His decrees, hence living for and by the things of this world.
He says: “…Therefore, a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will ravage them, a leopard will lie in wait near their towns to tear to pieces any who venture out, for their rebellion is great and their backslidings many.
“Why should I forgive you? Should I not punish them for this?” declares the Lord. “Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”
After reading the above I hear hardened hearts, refusal to repent, broken bonds, adultery, unfaithfulness, stubbornness, evil deeds, no fear of the Lord, ruling by own authority and leaders misleading people. The results are punishment, being cut off from God’s blessings, generational curses, shortage, lack, loss and so the list goes on. These are the results for those who know God’s Word, but do not follow it.
Then, there are the cases where people don’t realise that they are doing wrong and when bad things happen in their lives, they don’t understand why. We, as the children of God, followers of Christ, have a responsibility to share the Gospel and the Word of God so that more people will know the truth and why certain things happen in their lives.
Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. In Hosea 4:6, God says: “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.”
This means generational curses and the only way to break these are to accept God, know God, accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour and to follow Him whole heartedly. Then, when people turn from their wicked ways, they will once again as they seek God’s face, receive forgiveness and experience His blessings.
Off course there are instances when things happen for which there are no explanation for. People are saved in Christ and live Christ-filled lives and yet they experience the one storm after the other. We hear of many testimonies from Christ-filled children of God, who went through rape, armed robberies, job loss and waiting for breakthroughs at work, in their finances, health and marriage. Do we always understand WHY? No! People call out to God, and He might be silent in these challenges, but silence does not mean that He is not present.
He is God and still on the throne. Nothing goes unseen by Him. It says in Isaiah 46:10: “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’” We also know that Romans 8:28 says that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Is this not exactly what Job was going through?
I don’t have all the answers to my own WHY’s, and therefore I don’t have them for yours either. I just know that God has a plan and purpose for us in His Master Plan and that He wants us, just like Job, to trust Him unconditionally. He says in Proverbs 3:5 that we must trust Him with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding.
May we stand on this promise of truth even though our WHY’s are not answered.
Why – Part 3
I have gone through many things in my life, for which I have not had answers for. Then again, some things happened which I knew I had no wrongdoing on my part, yet I had to go through consequences because of other people’s wrong decisions. This hurts, especially if those people are close to you, the one’s you trust your life with.
I listened to a powerful testimony of Corrie Ten Boom, titled: A faith undefeated. Now, Corrie was a Dutch watchmaker and later a Christian writer and public speaker, who worked with her father, Casper Ten Boom, her sister, Betsie and other family members, to help many Jewish people escape from the Nazis during the Holocaust in World War II, by hiding them in her home. She believed her actions were following the will of God.
They were caught and she was arrested and sentenced to the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Her most famous book, the Hiding Place, is a biography that recounts the story of her family’s efforts and how she found and shared hope in God, while she was in prison at the concentration camp. I would like to share her testimony and although I recommend that you listen to it online, I do believe by sharing it here, will have an impact in the lives of those who need to read it today:
“The source of our strength is Jesus Christ Himself and His cross shows us that we can accept suffering as a part of God’s plan for this world. When I was in concentration camp, one of the most terrible things I had to go through was that they stripped us of all our clothing, and we had to stand naked. The first time was the worst. I said: “Betsie, I cannot bear this.” And suddenly it was as if I saw Jesus at the cross. And the Bible tells, they took His garments. He hang there naked, and I knew He hang there for me, my sins! And by my suffering, I understood a fraction of the suffering of Jesus Christ, and it made me so thankful that I could bear my suffering.
Love, so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all. Some people are afraid to look at the cross. Are you? Don’t be afraid! The cross is terrible! It is terrible how Jesus suffered. If you had been the only person in the world, Jesus should have suffered for your sins. It was some time ago; I was in Berlin and a man came to me and said: “Ms Ten Boom! I am glad to see you! Don’t you recognize me?” Suddenly I saw. That man was one of the cruellest overseer guards in the concentration camp. That man said: “I now a Christian. I found the Lord Jesus.
I know there is forgiveness for all the sins of the whole world, also for my sins. I have asked God’s grace for an opportunity that I could ask one of my very victims, forgiveness; and frauline Ten Boom, will you forgive me?” And I could not. I remembered the suffering of my dying sister, through him. But when I saw, when I experienced, I could not forgive. Suddenly I knew, I myself had no forgiveness!
Do you know that Jesus has said that when you do not forgive those who have sinned against you, my Heavenly Father will not forgive you your sins?
I knew, oh, I am not ready for Jesus’ coming, because I have no forgiveness for my sins. But I was not able! I could not! I could only hate him! Then I took one of those beautiful texts, one of the boundless resources, Romans 5:5 – The love of God is shed abroad into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us, and I said: Thank You Jesus that you have brought into my heart, God’s love through the Holy Spirit, who is given to me.
And thank You Father that Your love is stronger than my hatred and unforgiveness. That same moment, I was free, and I could say: “Brother give me your hand,” and I shook hands with Him, and it was as if I felt God’s love stream through my arms. You’ve never touched so the ocean of God’s love, is that you forgive your enemies. Can you forgive? No! I can’t either, but He can!
Just like Corrie Ten Boom, in the storms we face, we don’t always hear God, but He is there. He is still God and still on the throne. He has never left our sides. We stumble and fall, and it feels like we have no strength to carry on but listen carefully, He will not leave nor forsake us (Joshua 1:5 – 9). This means that whatever we are going through, He is going through it with us.
The question is, when we have no answers to WHY, when we feel broken and alone in the storms of life, will we turn from God and blame Him, or lift our hands and praise Him in the storm, like Job did? No storm lasts forever and at some point, it will end. Although there might have been devastation, pain and loss, we will remember that storm and how we made it through.
God says to us in Hebrews 10:35 not to lose our confidence in Him, as it will be richly rewarded. His mercy will fall on those who trust Him. Every storm will leave a testimony to tell, growing others and empowering them to leave a legacy, that although we don’t have all the answers to WHY, we will not lose our faith and confidence in God, for He will come through for us, every time!
Love in Christ
Princess K
