The Pastor's Page - 9/9/08
WHY QUESTIONS
Someone has said that “We live by faith not by explanations.“ But those incredibly wise words certainly go against the grain of human nature. From childhood most of us are consumed with insatiable curiosity. What parent has never wondered as their child rambled on with endless whys? Why is the sky blue? Why do the birds sing? Why can’t I have more ice cream? Whys are a rite of passage.
In Job’s story we are presented with a lot of whys. Why did God boast about Job? Why give Satan permission to test him in this horrific way? Why not warn Job ahead of time? Why must all his children die and
all his livestock be stolen? In the end of course God gives him back
everything he lost, but neither Job nor the readers of his book are shown what was accomplished. It’s true that Job is obviously humbled in the end, but an infinite God must have a number of ways to reveal His humbling Glory without this pain and heartache. Why must he be humbled this way?
The most unsettling part of the story is that God never really tells Job why.
The lesson is that a lot of what happens in God’s Word goes without explanation. We simply cannot know all we would like to know. Another well worn maxim reminds us that “ God works in mysterious ways”. Have you ever wondered what unrecorded words were spoken by Issac after Abraham responded to his question regarding the sacrifice? When Issac asked where was the lamb for the sacrifice, Abraham said God would provide. Did Issac ask how God would provide? Did he ask why his father was binding him to the altar? Was he frightened or was he at peace because he knew and understood how much his father loved and cared for him and that he would do him no
harm?
And why can’t we be more like Issac? When we find ourselves in one of those mysterious ways why can’t we just accept what God is doing as good and necessary without all this insistence on explanations? Could it be that our demand for explanations isn’t the issue? Is it possible that all these why questions are a facade? That the circumstances of the mysterious trial isn’t our main concern. Its merely a cover up for the fact that what we really fear is abandonment in the time of trial.
Of course few of us are probably willing to admit that. But Our Father knows that fear of abandonment is a real concern to us. So great was this awareness that Jesus’ words to his disciples on that last night before His death included an assurance for an ongoing companion. “ ‘If you love Me, keep My commandments. "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. "I will not leave you orphans;“ (John 14:15-18) NKJV
Jesus asked lots of questions during His ministry. In fact it was often one of His most effective teaching tools. He asked if questions and when questions; and what questions. But only once did He ask a why question in the same context that we do. On the cruel cross of Calvary he cries out, “ Why have you forsaken me? “ When Jesus gave voice to that despairing cry on the cross it signified several things.
First it was the fulfillment of prophecy. David asked that question originally in Psalms 22:1 , a Messianic Psalm that contains a number of prophetic elements related to the crucifixion of Christ.
Second it signified that Christ Jesus was in fact suffering on our behalf. This was not a token sacrifice which caused no pain to the participant as the Old Testament sacrifices did. This was the real, genuine, sacrificial death of the only living person who could effect our atonement. It signified not only physical torment, but emotional distress as well as He endured the sense of real separation from the Father.
But the third thing it signifies is the promise that we need not fear that separation or abandonment ever again. When we find ourselves in those times when why questions are abundant we must remind ourselves or be reminded by others that we are not alone. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit means more than just the power to witness or receive revelation and illumination. It means the strength to believe that God has not, and will not leave us to ourselves. Jesus words to His disciples prior to His death in John 14:16, "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-“ and just before His ascension, “ I am with you always, even to the end of the age ", (Matthew 28:20) are words of assurance of His presence.
Why questions are perfectly normal for human beings from the innocence of childhood to the brokenness of age. And sometimes God will give us answers here on earth as the situation merits. But as we proceed through life and its sometimes painful mysteries let us guard our hearts against the tendency to think God has abandoned us. Jesus’ painful cry on Calvary makes that impossible for the child of God!!
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