"Letting Go of the "Whys" of Our Pain

“Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”?  The Lord is the everlasting God . . . and his understanding no one can fathom”
 (Isaiah 40:27,28).

One of my weaknesses is in wanting to understand the “whys” behind something before I accept it.  This need to know has created problems in many areas of my life including my relationship with God, particularly where my health problems are concerned.

In his book Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby suggests that God’s refusal, silence, or doing something we don’t understand are not rejection.  They are opportunities for God to disclose to us more of Himself than we have ever known.

I experienced this truth before our recent vacation.  Two weeks before we left I had a bicycle accident which aggravated my back and fibro problems.  I questioned God.  He knew I was being careful and that we had been planning this trip for months.  But God used that experience to reveal more of Himself.  He enabled me to enjoy the trip despite pain and discomfort - an attitude adjustment which I am continually dealing with.  He also worked a huge miracle in allowing me to take a pain medication every day which normally causes severe depression but did not.  God revealed Himself in powerful ways and my faith grew.

On this vacation we were blessed to visit the Billy Graham library in Charlotte, North Carolina.  We saw Ruth Bell Graham’s grave, and I was reminded of something she wrote when questioning why.

“I lay my ‘whys’ before your cross in worship kneeling,
My mind too numb for thought, my heart beyond all feeling:
And worshiping, realize that I
In knowing You don’t need a ‘why’.” 

Rather than questioning God when I don’t understand something in my life, I pray that I will look for new ways He is revealing Himself and His great power through it, and maybe even be thankful that I don’t understand – because He is the Almighty God, and I am not.

Prayer:  Lord, I praise You for being beyond my human understanding.  Help me see my “whys” as opportunities to see new aspects of Your power and grace in my life.  Amen.