Why?

One of the hardest things I have ever faced in life is watching those that I love the most suffer.  It is human nature to try to understand it, but it is so often not understandable.  Sometimes we may get a glimpse of some of the reasons in the future, but often we never know.  I have had several conversations with people or seen posts recently where people are asking the question of why would a loving God allow tragedy or serious illness to attack someone who seems to be doing exactly what God wants him or her to do?  What happened to Romans 8:28, where God says that He causes all things to work together for the good of those that love Him?  If I am being totally transparent, this don’t feel “good” sometimes.  What about when God said he would never leave us nor forsake us?  Doesn’t this sometimes feel like we have been abandoned?  I remember a gunman coming into our church (Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas) and killing several very dedicated young men and women, some of which were training to go to the foreign mission field.  How can a loving God who has all authority allow such a thing to happen to such a committed person?  If God is all powerful, how can He allow His own plans to be interrupted by calamity or disease?  People that are close to me have had false accusations made against them and it has turned their lives upside down.  Where is the justice in that?  Cancer and other major illnesses have invaded the lives of several people that are close to me that seem so innocent.  In some cases God chose to heal them here on earth and in other cases God chose to heal them by taking the home.  In some cases there continues a long, hard fought battle against this awful disease.  God has taught me that it is okay to ask questions.  Sometimes the healing of our emotions requires us to ask the why questions, but we can’t get stuck there.  You see, God already knows your thoughts so you might as well have the conversation with Him and voice them so He can work in your lives to heal them.

Have I asked why Julie has cancer when we were right in the middle of doing His will?  You better believe I have.  I have asked God that question several times.  Every time I do, instead than getting an answer I get a peace that cannot be explained.  You see, God wants us to have faith in HIM, not in His ability to heal us or what He does for us.  I do believe that God will heal Julie here on this earth and we will be back on the mission field in Honduras, but if He doesn’t choose to heal her that way, God is still good and worthy of worship and praise simply because of who He is.

God is not the cause of bad things or of evil – those things exists in the world because Adam and Even brought sin into the world, but God does not always intervene to prevent bad things from happening to people.

Now back to Romans 8:28…… “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28, NASB)”.  The problem with our understanding of this verse is that we tend to define anything that doesn’t go the way we think it should as “bad” or “evil” and anything that goes the way we think it should as “good”.  Our definition of good and bad is all centered around us personally and those that we know and love.  But John 3:16 says that “For God so loved the world……”.  We should think of Romans 8:28 more like this….. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to ALL those who love God, to ALL those who are called according to His purpose…..”  The Bible reminds us everywhere that the earth is no longer our home – our home and our citizenship is in heaven.  No matter how many years we live here, it is but a blink of the eye compared to eternity.  God knows everything about everybody and He is always at work to bring people to himself or to draw his children back to fellowship with him.  He will do or allow whatever He has to (including the crucifixion of his own Son) to make things work together for good  of those who love Him, as He defines good, not as we define it.  We don’t know and often never know how the “bad” things that happen to us bring about good somewhere else, but God does.  I cannot answer why God couldn’t or wouldn’t just bring about that same good without allowing the bad, but I still choose to worship and adore Him.  We don’t get to define good and evil – anything of God is good and anything in opposition to Him is bad and it is that simple.

So while I feel the pain of watching my bride of 25+ years suffer through surgery, chemo and hair loss and whatever else she will go through as we endure this, I can honestly say as the writer of a wonderful hymn penned, “It is well with my soul”.  Why?  Because I KNOW that God is love and loves me, Julie, and our entire family (the whole world actually…) with all his heart.  I KNOW that God knows everything and therefore He knows what is best in every circumstance.  I KNOW that God is all powerful – He is still on the throne and nothing can happen without him authorizing it.  I can think of no better place to be than under the protective wing of an all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful God who I can have confidence will do the absolute best for us.

To His Glory!

Ben