There are times as Christians we are faced with the question of why? Why does God allow suffering? Why does God permit evil to exist? Why does God not intervene when tragedy strikes, the loss of a family member, the failure of a marriage, the betrayal of a friend. The list of "why" questions can be extensive and the emotional pain overwhelming.
But is it ok to question God and, if so, does God have an answer for us? The answer to both is yes and those answers are found in God's Word. But there are Caveats. What is my attitude in questioning God and am I willing to accept the answers His infallible Word offers?
The Prophet Habakkuk in the Old Testament is one example of the believer's struggle with the question of why. Faced with the continued sin of the people of the kingdom of Judah to who he was called to minister, his frustration ("burden" as he calls it) reaches a fevered pitch. "Why do you show me iniquity," he asks God, "and cause me to see trouble?" "O Lord, how long shall I cry and You will not hear?"
Sound familiar? It does to me. I have had those times in my life when I have expressed my "burden" to the Lord. Why are the circumstances I am facing not being addressed by God? Why is He not answering my prayers? The answer to these questions is found later in the text o Habakkuk. First, the prophet acknowledges what he already knows about God as revealed in His Word. He is an "everlasting" God. He is the "Holy One". Therefore, He can be completely trusted to act righteously in the inexplicable "burden" he has on his heart.
In the end, Habakkuk displays the God-honoring attitude every believer must display when we are faced with questions of "why". "I will stand my watch ...," he says, "... and see what he (God) will say to me..." for "...the just (believers) shall live by faith." (Habakkuk 2:1,4). The more we know about God through the study of His Word, the more we learn to trust Him to address our questions of why. God loves us immeasurably and makes no mistakes in His sovereign work in our lives.
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher that the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thought." (Isaiah 55:8,9). "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)
by Dr. Chuck Jarvis, Pastor
Valley View Community Church
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