Why God…why?
A wayward child, natural calamities, betrayal by a trusted one, physical afflictions, a barrenness perhaps of body and soul. Many of us have discovered the hard way that more often than not life is not fair, justice is not duly served, and there isn’t always an explanation for the things that happen to or around us.
When trials and difficulties come a-knocking, what kind of a response do we find ourselves giving? A handful of us would probably end up griping and complaining with a generous dose of self-pity, but surely the rest of us mature Christians would know better than that! A common notion is that struggling with the ‘whys’ in our lives and God’s ways of dealing with us, instead of displaying an unwavering resilience and confidence is a demonstration of a lack of faith and trust in Him. Is there any place at all to question?
A wayward child, natural calamities, betrayal by a trusted one, physical afflictions, a barrenness perhaps of body and soul. Many of us have discovered the hard way that more often than not life is not fair, justice is not duly served, and there isn’t always an explanation for the things that happen to or around us.
When trials and difficulties come a-knocking, what kind of a response do we find ourselves giving? A handful of us would probably end up griping and complaining with a generous dose of self-pity, but surely the rest of us mature Christians would know better than that! A common notion is that struggling with the ‘whys’ in our lives and God’s ways of dealing with us, instead of displaying an unwavering resilience and confidence is a demonstration of a lack of faith and trust in Him. Is there any place at all to question?
Somewhere to Be Real
Ponder the agonising, heart-wrenching pleas that David gave up to the Lord in the first two verses of the 22nd Psalm:
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.”
I am sure to many of us the Psalms are most dear and precious. In the dark valleys of our lives when there are more tears than words to express ourselves, the Psalms echo our sentiments and give us utterance of our hearts’ cry to God. The very man after God’s own heart had his questions, his fears, his frustrations (what more us?), and was not constrained to make them known. Yet that did not make him any less loved and esteemed by the Lord.
When burdens distress us, who are the people we run to to pour out our souls? I’m sure they are the ones we trust and the ones we know who care about us. With them, we find a safe place to be vulnerable and be our real selves, knowing that we wouldn’t be taken advantage of. With them, we are upfront with our anger and disappointment, having the confidence that they know us well enough to recognise our need to vent our emotions and to not judge or think any less of us. So it ought to be the same with God. In our conversations with Him is He like a regular friend to us, the kind to whom we always put on a standard smile and brave front to? Or is He our most trusted confidant in all seasons, in whose love and acceptance we rest assured in?
Ponder the agonising, heart-wrenching pleas that David gave up to the Lord in the first two verses of the 22nd Psalm:
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.”
I am sure to many of us the Psalms are most dear and precious. In the dark valleys of our lives when there are more tears than words to express ourselves, the Psalms echo our sentiments and give us utterance of our hearts’ cry to God. The very man after God’s own heart had his questions, his fears, his frustrations (what more us?), and was not constrained to make them known. Yet that did not make him any less loved and esteemed by the Lord.
When burdens distress us, who are the people we run to to pour out our souls? I’m sure they are the ones we trust and the ones we know who care about us. With them, we find a safe place to be vulnerable and be our real selves, knowing that we wouldn’t be taken advantage of. With them, we are upfront with our anger and disappointment, having the confidence that they know us well enough to recognise our need to vent our emotions and to not judge or think any less of us. So it ought to be the same with God. In our conversations with Him is He like a regular friend to us, the kind to whom we always put on a standard smile and brave front to? Or is He our most trusted confidant in all seasons, in whose love and acceptance we rest assured in?
Somewhere Not to Be Bitter
That being said and done, the problem comes when legitimate feelings of anger are not handled correctly and lead to inappropriate bitterness and rebellion which sometimes accompany anger. The Bible realistically portrays the frustration and anger of God's people when things go wrong or when they cannot understand why certain things happen. This was the reason for Job's anger at getting no explanation from God for his suffering, Jonah's anger over Nineveh's repentance and the death of the shade-giving vine, and the prophet Jeremiah’s anger with God because of his persecution and the lack of response to his preaching.
God did not make us emotionless robots but rather, humans with an innate ability to feel and express. Hence while there is no wrong the expressing of ourselves in the various circumstances that confront us, the line is drawn when we demand explanations from God or elevate ourselves to think that we know better.
“Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?” (Isaiah 45:9)
Somewhere to Recognise God’s Track Record
At the end of every single one of his Psalms, David in his struggles never failed to lose sight of the unchangeable fact that God is faithful and trustworthy. David’s focus is not on his finite self, but how time and again God proved and continues to prove Himself faithful to His promises and His people.
“In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them. To You they cried out and were delivered; in You they trusted and were not disappointed.” (Psalm 22:4)
It is in spite of our fears, in spite of our disappointments that we trust in God, not in the absence of it. Great is His faithfulness, to you, to me.
