Daily Delight

Why, Lord?

“If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would find out what he would answer me, and consider what he would say” (Job 23:3-5, NIV).

Last week I taught a lesson about Job to my Sunday School class. The children asked me, “Why did God let Satan do that to Job?” Why, indeed? It’s one of the most difficult things to understand about God. When our hearts are so broken that we just want to curl up in a ball and cry, “Why did you let this happen?” Or worse, with righteous indignation, and more anger than despair, “Why me? Why this? Why now?”

Sometimes life isn’t fair. There’s no getting around it. Just remember that God never deliberately hurts us. That doesn’t mean that bad things aren’t going to happen. Just because God loves me, I don’t get a free pass from sin and death and pain. But He is there in the fire with me. “…he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deut. 31:6b, NIV). And he never promised to fix anything. “…present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6b, NIV). The promise is peace.

Someday, I may understand why, but in the valley I can’t let that be the focus. I must fix my eyes on Jesus; remember that his pain was far worse than anything this world will put me through. I must trust in the promise of the new heaven and the new earth where, “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Rev. 21:4b, NIV).  

When, like Job, I want to get up in God’s face and get some answers. His response to Job should humble me. (Job 38-41) Oh yeah, He’s God. He’s yesterday, today and tomorrow. He knows the path I need to take to become more Christ-like. He knows the pain I need to endure that will force me to draw closer to Him.

Instead of asking why, I will trust. Well, I’ll try.

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Photo: @nhinton14

	Stephanie Cardel
	Stephanie Cardel is a wife of thirty years, mother of three grown children, leader of Bible studies, and writer of a blog about Jesus in the Old Testament. She also writes YA and MG fiction and volunteers in her local public schools teaching abstinence. If you need her, you can dig your way through the overflowing piles of books to her room, where she’ll be curled up with a cup of mocha coffee doing one of three things: studying her Bible, reading fiction, or writing. You can also visit her websites: www.withopenedeyes.com, www.checkoutthesebooks.com, or follow her on twitter @StephanieCardel or @fixingmyeyes.