How to be Extraordinary in the Face of "WHY"

Why? 

Why is there such death and violence in the world? Why do the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? Why is there violence against children and women?

Why in this modern age is there such a thing as slavery? Why did my loved one get Alzheimer’s? Why is my friend battling cancer? Why? Why? 

This is a question that haunts so many people, especially when many believe that God is supposed to be a good and righteous God. They cannot reconcile their ideas of God to their sense of right and wrong. 

If you have asked why before, then you are in good company. 

That's right.

 It is okay to question God. 

Habakkuk did. 

Habakkuk was a priest and prophet during the time of Jeremiah and Daniel. He saw the violence and sin around him and he was confused. 

In Habakkuk 1:2-4 the prophet asks: 

Lord, how long will I call for help and you not listen? I cry out to you, “Violence!” But you don’t deliver us. Why do you show me injustice and look at anguish so that devastation and violence are before me? There is strife, and conflict abounds. The Instruction is ineffective; justice does not endure because the wicked surround the righteous. Justice becomes warped.  

Have you ever been there? I have. I have felt lost and devastated by bad news and wondered “why”. I have seen those pictures of children around the world who are orphaned, hungry, cold, and dying and thought, "why"? 

When my bills are piling up and my bank balance is in the negative, I have asked why. 

When I see my nation declining morally, spiritually, financially, and physically I ask why. 

When the news shows the face of one more soldier who is dead I ask why. 

When there is no justice for victims I ask why. 

Why is a hard question. Ask any parent who has had a two or three year old child ask "why" over and over. Children are naturally curious. How we answer can teach them life lessons or give them reassurance. If we feed them too much information, it could overwhelm them. 

Are we much different with God when we ask Him why? 

In the moments we ask why. we can rail against God, (why over and over) or we can grasp the moment and learn something from Him. 

Normal people ask why. Extraordinary people wait for God to answer.

“Look among the nations and watch! Be astonished and stare, because something is happening in your days that you wouldn’t believe even if told.”  Habakkuk 1:5 

God Has a Plan. 

Our Father has a plan. It is so amazing and full and perfect that if He told us all of it, we would be blown away! 

God’s ways are not our way. They are so much higher, and more involved in details than we can know. God shows us in bits and pieces. 

Sometimes we get a glimpse of things to come, or a sense of peace, or a reassurance that sets us back on track. Sometimes we don’t get any of these things. That is when faith comes in. 

Habakkuk 2:4 says “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith”. 

Translation? (According to me) “Look, when you set yourself against God because you don’t like the answers you cannot find rest in your soul. Line up on God’s side and live with the knowledge that God has it under control. Live by faith!” 

We may not ever know all the reasons things seem so out of balance in this world. But there is one thing we can be assured of: God is in control and all we need to do is trust. 

Not blindly, but actively. Knowing that God is faithful and just and holy, we can rest. 

So next time you want to know why, stop and listen. God will answer. Then, it is your job to trust. Are you up for it? 

Can you share an example of a time when you asked God why?