WHY? (TRUSTING GOD WHEN YOU DON‘T UNDERSTAND) (NIV)
By LOTZ, ANNE GRAHAM
Why does God let bad things happen to good people?
Why does God let bad things happen to good people?
to innocent people?
to helpless people?
to defenseless people?
to children?
to me?
Sometimes His ways seem so hard to understand!
In our world today, God’s children need to be reminded to trust Him when we don’t understand and nothing seems to make sense. Nowhere is this principle taught more poignantly or powerfully than in the book of John, chapter 11. In this passage, Martha and Mary experienced great suffering as their prayers went seemingly unanswered.
When Jesus didn’t quickly intervene to save the life of their beloved brother, Lazarus, Mary’s faith seemed to collapse, while Martha’s grew until she saw the glory of God in her brother’s life. In the end their faith was gloriously rewarded, teaching us just to trust Him when we don’t understand.
What bad thing, what storm of suffering has swept into your life, rendering you helpless? The storm of death? Divorce? Disease? Debt? Instead of being delivered, did your loved one die from cancer?
Has a feud erupted in your family?
a betrayal occurred in your marriage?
a rebellion challenged your parenting?
an untimely end come to your pregnancy?
a severance taken you from your job?
a military deployment deprived you of your loved one?
Besides feeling totally helpless, what has been your reaction to the storm? Are you defiantly standing in the midst of the swirling circumstances, yelling in your spirit, Why did You let this happen? Or maybe you’re with-drawing into a shell of denial and depression, hoping the storm won’t get any worse.
I understand that a turkey and an eagle react differently to the threat of a storm. A turkey reacts by running under the barn, hoping the storm won’t come near. An eagle, on the other hand, leaves the security of its nest and spreads its wings to ride the air currents of the approaching storm, knowing they will carry it higher than it could soar on its own. Based on your reaction to the storms of life, which are you? A turkey or an eagle?
It’s natural for me to be a turkey in my emotions, but I have chosen to be an eagle in my spirit. And as I have spread my wings of faith to embrace “the wind,” placing my trust in Jesus and Jesus alone, I have discovered just how faithful He can be.
Soaring is an adventure of discovering by experience His answer to my pain. I begin to understand the reasons why God has allowed these bad things to happen. Soaring is so exhilarating I find increasingly that I am no longer content to live in the barnyard of familiar comfort just for the relative security that seems to be there. I want to live by faith!
Looking back over some of the most pain-filled periods in my life, my thoughtful, confident conclusion is that God allowed the storms of suffering to increase and intensify in my life because He wanted me to soar higher in my relationship with Him—to fall deeper in love with Him,
to grow stronger in my faith in Him,
to be more consistent in my walk with Him,
to bear more fruit in service to Him,
to draw closer to His heart,
to keep my focus on His face, to live for His glory alone!
Faith that triumphantly soars is possible only when the winds of life are contrary to personal comfort. That kind of faith is His ultimate purpose in allowing us to encounter storms of suffering. He wants you to trust Him, even in the face of death!
He wants you to trust Him.
In the beginning, we were never intended to die. Death was not a part of God’s original plan. He created you and me to live with Him and enjoy Him forever in an uninterrupted, permanent, personal, love relationship. But sin came into our lives and broke that relationship. All of us are affected by this broken relationship because all of us are infected with sin.
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God….”” (Romans 3:23)
The consequence of this sin is death—not only physical death—but eternal death in hell, the ultimate separation from God.
“The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)
Would you open your heart and show it to Jesus? Because Jesus does understand. He loves you! He loves you so much that He died on the cross and rose from the grave to pay the penalty for your sin.
“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
He entered into our suffering, and He asks us to enter into His at the cross when we repent of our sin, die to ourselves and receive Him by faith.
“God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
How to receive Christ:
1. Admit your need (I am a sinner).
2. Be willing to turn from your sins (repent).
3. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave.
4. Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life through the Holy Spirit (receive Him as your Savior).
What to Pray:
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am sinful and I need Your forgiveness. I believe that You died to pay the penalty for my sin. I want to turn from my sin nature and follow You instead. I invite You to come into my heart and life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Bible references NIV –reprinted by permission, Why ? by Anne Graham Lotz,
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