Allow For Mystery

Hey Friend,

I can only imagine, that when I was little, I was one of whose inquisitive (pesky) children always asking, "Why?"  I have always had this insatiable need to understand why things happen or take place, why people do the things that they do, and say what they say.  

As I've grown older this search for the "Why" has transferred over into my relationship with God.  I want to know God, I mean really know Him, and understand His motivation behind why He does the things that He does.  I want to know His logic...His way of thinking...I want to know and understand the mind of God.  Ironically, the fall of man began with the desire to eat of the tree of knowledge.  Maybe there are just some things we aren't meant to know.

A good friend of mine once said to me, "You know you think way too much.  I rarely think about or question all these things."

I guess you could say being a "deep thinker" is a blessing and a curse.  On the good side, I think I truly want to know God more intimately.  On the not so good side, I'm not willing to take things at face value and leave it at that.  

So why does God do the things that he does?

I can understand the story of Joseph, wherein, his brothers sell him into slavery out of jealousy and tell their poor father that Joseph is dead.  I get the scripture in Genesis 50: 20, where Joseph says to his brothers:

20"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. 

Nothing can thwart the will of God.  What others mean for evil, God can, and indeed does, use for good.

But what about the cousin of my sister-in-law - a young talented actor on Broadway - who was driving home, skidded on black ice, and now is paralyzed from the chest down?

What about the devoted father and man of God who has served all his life, is stricken with cancer, and despite the prayers of many, loses his battle to this awful disease?

What about the woman - a mother of three - who goes out for a run and collapses on the pavement of a heart attack and leaves her children without a mother?  

Why do bad things happen to good people, while some evil people seem to prosper?

I want to know these answers, but I realize that if I was able to comprehend these answers then that would put my mind on the same level as God's and....

Do I really want to have a God who is no smarter, greater, more awesome than I am?  No, I don't think so. 

12Now, we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

The truth is that, in this lifetime, we only see part of the picture - and even that we see dimly.  I/we need to grasp and cling to a more eternal perspective that says we won't know all the answers now, but we will, and in that time God will reveal His mind to us and it will make sense.

So what do we do in the meantime?

We allow for the mystery.  It's okay and, in fact, we will have to live with answering the question, "Why?" with, "I simply don't know."

1. I may not be able to answer all the scenarios above, but I DO believe that God is good. 

1Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.  (Psalm 136:1)

2.  I may not know why good people suffer, but I DO know that God is loving and faithful and He cannot deny Himself.  

13if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.  (2 Timothy 2:13)

3.  I may not understand why evil people prosper and like, in the case of Job, God will allow Satan to test those who are righteous.  

Why do the wicked live on,
    growing old and increasing in power?
8 They see their children established around them,
    their offspring before their eyes.  (Job 21: 7-8)

God does not allow us to suffer for no reason, and even though the reason may be hidden in the mystery of His divine purpose - never for us to know in this life - we must trust in Him as the God who does only what is right.

What I don't know:  Too many things to list.

What I DO know:  God is loving, good, patient, and filled with lovingkindness.  He is just, righteous, all-knowing, all-powerful.  He is the Alpha and the Omega (the beginning and the end).  He is the One true God who never leaves nor forsakes those who love Him. 

He is my Healer, Redeemer, Rewarder, Restorer.  He is the bounty for my sins through His Son, Jesus Christ.  He gives me every breath that I breathe.  He gives me the sun every morning and the moon every night.  He is the God who sees me, knows me, and despite my sin, sent His Son to die for me.  This I know.

As for all the rest, I will have to allow for mystery and accept in faith.

What about you?  What "Why?" questions do you wrestle with?  What, in this world, is hard for you to accept and why?  What do you do with your doubts and your "un-knowing"?  Will you share?

Be blessed.....and as our prayer, let's pray the Truth written above...