One of the biggest questions regarding faith is why. Unbelievers and believers alike ask it. Today we’ll talk about that as well as some reminders of ways God has shown His love to this hurting world.
I’ve always enjoyed nature. Animals and landscapes. Watching nature shows.
Nature is fascinating. It’s vast, diverse, and simple yet complex. God’s fingerprints are all over it, and sometimes its strength and power are the best ways to remind me that I am so small yet seen by the big God who created it.
But sometimes nature shows are difficult to watch. Yes, they show the majesty and creativity of our God, but they also show the sin that corrupts our world.
Bigger animals eat smaller ones to survive. Babies get injured and then abandoned by their mothers. Reefs die. Plastic chokes birds and fish. Poachers decimate species.
It’s not always beautiful to watch. Sometimes it’s sad, depressing, and confusing. Because it makes me wonder about the rest of life. It’s difficult not to ask why all the hard and ugly in life happens.
Why doesn’t Almighty God stop it?
I wonder if there has ever been a person born who hasn’t uttered this age-old question at some point in their lives—whether consciously or not.
We Christians can be good at suppressing it and telling others they should do the same, but it’s there.
But is it altogether wrong to ask why?
I don’t think so. Because of Scripture.
Now there are a lot of things in Scripture. I lot of messed up things. You can’t just say something is there and proceed. But using context helps, and the context around the question of why leads me to believe that God understands our need to ask it.
Perhaps asking why could even lead to an honest and genuine faith, instead of suppressing any emotion we feel could lead to questioning God.
Speaking of honest faith, David comes to mind front and center. One of the reasons David has always been one of my favorite people in the Bible is because of his bold and forthright expressions of his faith. From singing and dancing in front of an entire city to wholeheartedly repenting to mourning the deaths of his children to asking God why, David is an excellent example for us.
In fact, I would go so far as to say that David was gifted at asking the question because of his skill at writing music and poetry.
David wrote about half of the poems included in Psalms, and he and his fellow authors wrote quite a few psalms with the theme of why.
Some of them have made me uncomfortable over the years because I couldn’t imagine saying something like that.
Maybe that means they’re examples of what we shouldn’t do then?
I don’t think so because of the biggest context for this question.
Jesus.
One of the most well-known psalms is David’s Psalm 22:1–2.
And God the Son quoted it on the cross (Matthew 27:46).
And we know from Scripture that Jesus did no wrong. First, He is God. Second, that was the whole point, right? The spotless Lamb was the sacrifice that covers us in the blood, allowing for our relationship with Holy God.
Ways God Showed His Care for Us
So now that we’ve established asking why isn’t necessarily wrong, we can talk about what to do with that.
Whether God chooses to answer our questions directly, like he did with Job, or not, He’s already shown that He cares for us in many ways.
The following list certainly isn’t exhaustive, but I pray it serves as a reminder for us in the midst of our questions of how God has and does show His love to this hurting world.
#1 – He allows us free will.
This point isn’t original. I’m sure you’ve probably heard it before, but it’s still worth talking about.
Now this one point is really a blessing and a curse, depending on how you look at it. Because of free will, we have almost all the problems we have today. Because Eve and Adam had the choice to disobey God. Because we all still have that choice today.
God could have made robots to inhabit His Eden, beautiful beings with no mind or will of their own. But then where would love have been? Or relationship? Sure, God could have loved His robots. He’s good at love, but they would be incapable of it themselves because if there is no choice, how can there be love?
#2 – He shows us patience.
Through our free will, we have rejected God repeatedly. If the situation were reversed, not even one of us would have the patience to keep reaching out to the very ones who rejected us and everything related to us.
But God has shown us nothing but patience. Because it can seem sometimes like we’re surrounded by evil, but if God did what most of us think He should have done and eradicated all of the evil in the world, none of us would be here. It’s difficult to admit, but we’ve contributed to the evil ourselves—by lying, stealing, coveting . . .
He is waiting for the whole world to hear of His saving grace.
#3 – He gave us Himself.
Not only has God been patient with us, He’s given His very self to us. First, He sent God the Son to walk the world as a man and die a gruesome death, all to show His love for us.
Then God the Spirit continues to stay with us, to comfort, encourage, and guide us.
#4 – He adopts us as His children.
We sinned. We rejected God. But He made a way for us to live. And even more than that, He adopts us as His children, brothers and sisters to His own perfect, sinless Son.
#5 – He blesses us with abundance.
This is really related to the last point, but it deserves its own spot. In so many ways God has blessed us with more than He had to.
It wasn’t enough that He saved our souls. He calls us children and blesses us each with innumerable blessings every day.
Not only did God create a world for us, but He blessed it with abundance too. Nature is full of colors, flowers, and diversity of landscapes, animals, fishes, insects, and on and on. Not only do so many plants reproduce, they bloom, creating beautiful, completely unnecessary displays of the creativity and abundance of God.
God made our bodies to require sustenance. He gave us taste, and He gave us foods that taste good. He even gave us fruits and honey, delectable treats for our tastebuds.
Through His Son, God restores our ability to have a relationship with him, but He doesn’t stop at that. He gives us the ability to have genuinely loving relationships with those around us. He gives us marriage, children and parents, and friends—community.
#6 – He promises His continual presence and care.
I’ve touched on this already, too, but it deserves special mention. No matter what we’re going through, what we’ve done, or what we’ve not done, God faithfully walks with us through it all.
#7 – He promises that this won’t last forever.
Life is an interesting paradox of fleeting and eternity. So many things in our lives can feel as though they will last forever, especially hard times.
Our very lives feel this way too: At once fleeting and stuck.
But God has promised that the hard times for us won’t last forever, and even more, He’s promised that evil won’t last. There will come a day when every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. He will wipe away our tears, and we will finally see a time that will never fade in bodies that will know no pain, sorrow, guilt, shame, or unbelief.
We will forever bask in the love and care of our God.
It’s okay to ask why, but we can also remember that God has shown His love and care for us repeatedly.
What encourages you to remember God’s love and care when you want to ask why? Share in the comments below.
Resources
- 5 Reminders for When You Doubt God’s Love and Care from HISsparrowBlog
- Fear Not: 6 Important Scripture Reminders to Cast Out Fear from HISsparrowBlog
- 10 Verses for When You Need a Little Faith from HISsparrowBlog
I frequently link up with the following: Grace & Truth with Embracing the Unexpected, Tell His Story with Jeanne Takenaka, and Let’s Have Coffee with Joanne Viola.
