Asking God Why
By Estelle Nazary
And Job again took
up his discourse and said, "Oh that
I were as in months gone by, As in the days when God watched over me; When His lamp shone over my head, And by His
light I walked through darkness ; As I
was in the prime of my days, When the friendship of God was over my tent; When the Almighty was yet with me, And my
children were around me; When my steps
were bathed in butter, And the rock poured out for me streams of oil ! Job
29:1-6
"He has cast
me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes. "I cry out to You
for help, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You turn Your attention
against me. "You have become cruel
to me; With the might of Your hand You persecute me. "You lift me up to the wind and cause me
to ride; And You dissolve me in a storm. "For I know that You will bring me to
death And to the house of meeting for all living. "Yet does not one in a heap of ruins
stretch out his hand, Or in his disaster therefore cry out for help? "Have I not wept for the one whose life
is hard? Was not my soul grieved for the
needy? "When I expected good, then
evil came; When I waited for light, then darkness came. Job 30:19-26
The best way to help a person who is grief-stricken is to
be sympathetic. Sometimes the best
response is to remain quiet and listen to the person who is hurting. The comforter never should engage in
condemnation in seeking to help another person.
As we try to help people, we must realize that each person is an
individual. Often we must let persons
know that we do not have all the answers to their problems. The wise comforter will not major on the negatives. One way of helping people is to put oneself
in their shoes. Another important way of
helping someone is to pray for that individual.
Please respond to
the following statements with sometimes, often, or never:
- I find myself telling God that some things are not fair in this life.
- I feel that my prayers go unanswered.
- I blame God for many things that go wrong in this world.
- I ask WHY? When tragedy strikes me or a Christian friend.
- I find myself longing for the good old days when God seemed closer to me.
- When bad things happen to me, I feel that God has become my adversary, that He is being cruel to me.
- I believe that God should reward openly those who try to help other people.
- I find myself feeling uneasy if I dare to question God at any time.
Truths for us:
- We need to learn that the heart’s deepest cry for explanation or to ask WHY? Is a normal and acceptable response to human suffering.
- We need to develop the awareness that to recall a former time of prosperity in a present difficulty is natural. Such recall should lead one to thanksgiving for the past and a resolve to strengthen present devotion to God.
- We need to admit that one’s questions about many experiences may never be answered.
- Our daily walk with God must be by faith.
- We need to learn to rejoice in tribulation, knowing that through it God will perfect His work in us.
- We need to learn to realize that though we may have trials, God is not an adversary, but an advocate.
- We need to learn that even when our prayers are seemingly unanswered, God is not deaf or unresponsive. In His time, He will answer and meet our needs in His unique way.
- We need to develop a sensitivity to others who in their pain may be asking WHY? Such a thing occurred. We should seek to reach out in a ministry of consolation to all people who hurt.
- We can react to adversity with bitterness or we can draw closer to God. We make the choice.
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