When we realized Jeremy wasn’t going to make it, I looked at my dad and asked, “Why does this keep happening to me?”
When bad things happen, often our first response is to ask, “why?” I’m not saying it’s wrong to ask “why” questions, but they rarely come with a satisfactory answer. Mostly, because God’s ways are so much higher than our ways. We can speculate, but it just won’t be possible for us to fully comprehend His perspective until we are glorified in eternity.
It is important to ask questions. That’s how we learn. That’s how we grow. But asking the wrong questions leads only to frustration.
So, I’ve stopped asking “why.”
Instead, I ask:
WHAT is God doing in this season?
To WHOM can I minister through my pain?
WHERE does God want me to go from here?
WHEN would God like me to move?
HOW can God receive glory through this?
And slowly, but surely, He has been revealing those answers.
My dad didn’t have the answer to my “why” that day. I wouldn’t have been able to receive it if he did. He simply said, “I don’t know why. But I do know that God loves you and He makes no mistakes.”
My Heavenly Father knows all the answers, but He also knows me. Perhaps, one day, I’ll be ready to receive the “why.” In all likelihood, that day won’t come until Glory. Meanwhile, I’ll be satisfied with, “I love you and I make no mistakes.”
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6