Unanswerable Questions

Why, Lord, Why?

“Why?” must be the most commonly used word that God hears. It is usually accompanied by “can’t you . . . .?”, or “did you . . . .?” For examples, “Why will you not heal . . .? or “Why did you allow . . . . ?” All perfectly valid but unanswerable questions – for now at least. As it says in 1 Corinthians 13:12 “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” So right now, when we ask these difficult questions, we know that we cannot see everything from God’s perspective but we are told that we will see it all later.

As one who has asked the Lord these questions, I have had to be satisfied with the answer, “I will tell you later.” To many people that’s not a satisfactory answer at all. To the Christian, if we have that “faith as big as a mustard seed”, it is sufficient to know that God was, still is, and always will be, in control. This is where “faith like that of a child” comes in. Little children, in particular, tend to accept what we, as adults, say at face value. They don’t often question it. If an adult tells them it is so, then it is so and the child accepts that.

This is how God asks us to accept His decisions, or permissions, or denials of our prayers. If we look at the verse, “And we know 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), it is that wee phrase, “according to His purpose” that causes us so much difficulty. The trouble is that, although we know that Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.”, we don’t necessarily accept it and we try to reason it all out without having the advantage of knowing and understanding God’s purposes.

We, as Christians, will always come across those who are angry with God for allowing something bad to happen. No amount of philosophical argument or reasoned explanation of the different roles of God and Satan will help. All we can do is to empathise and sympathise – show that we care and share their feelings. We may even be able to explain about God bringing some good out of the situation but we’re probably better off not trying that. If we can just share our belief that God cares for them as much or even more than they care for themselves, than we will help start the healing process.

I am reminded of the story of the lady widowed after over 60 years of happy marriage. Instead of being supported by her family, she was the support most of them turned to in their hour of need. Her explanation? “It’s only temporary. I had 60 years with him and we are now separated for a season. Soon I will be re-united with him for eternity. Death is not our enemy.”

That’s right isn’t it? In the final analysis, Satan doesn’t win – I read the last page of the book too. So we just need to rest our faith on that belief and on God’s promises too.