I am sure you have read about Job in the Bible. He was the poor guy who had two incredibly bad days that were meant to test his faith and make him abandon his belief in God. He endured confusion and pain as each day unfolded, questioning why he was going through such suffering. Job even reached a point where he wished for death to escape the agony. However, when he finally encountered God, he discovered that knowing God was more important than understanding the reasons behind his suffering.
There is no indication that God ever revealed the ‘why’ to Job during his lifetime. Instead, God revealed Himself and His love for Job, despite the circumstances and pain he endured. Perhaps you can relate to Job’s situation, although hopefully not to the same extent. Your pain and questions may leave you feeling bewildered and disillusioned. It is natural to ask why when faced with senseless loss and heartbreaking grief.
Similar to Job, our perspective is limited to the present moment. We can only see what is happening in our lives today. Job’s story offers a different perspective, one that is beyond our comprehension and requires us to trust in the goodness of God.
There is an eternal and infinite God who is working on our behalf, and His love for us exceeds our imagination. When we base our understanding of God solely on our circumstances, we are speaking about things we know nothing about – things too wonderful for us to grasp. Instead of asking why, we should consider a different question: “What is my relationship with You, Lord? How does my dependence on You affect how I live each day?”
By asking these questions, we assume that the God we trust with every aspect of our lives can also be trusted with the why. We no longer need Him to provide an answer, and our next steps won’t depend on knowing the reason for our struggles.
You may never fully recover from those extremely difficult days, but changing the question will help you navigate through them and develop a deeper and more intimate relationship with God than ever before. You will become grounded in the knowledge that He is in control; He loves you, and He will never abandon you or fail to provide for your needs. He will be your sole source and supplier, even if He uses unexpected means.
Your only responsibility is to lean on Him, allowing Him to care for you and demonstrate the amazing things He can do through your life. Because just like Job, one day everything will be alright. I love how Job’s story ends with the Lord blessing him even more in the second half of his life than in the beginning (Job 42:12).