The Whys Belong to God.
How do we get through dark days? How should we live when we don’t like or understand what is going on and we are tempted to question God’s love, His purpose and His goodness? David experienced it:
Psalm 22:1–2 (NASB95) 1 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. 2 O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest.
Even Jesus experienced it on the cross and quoted these very verses as he bore our sin and shame and died our death and the Father in that moment looked away. But it wasn’t the last word for David, or Jesus or you and me.
We all experience it. Why? Why me? Why now? Why didn’t you stop it from starting? Why don’t you stop it now? What are you waiting for? On an on it goes. Unanswered questions. Doubt. Fear. Anxiety. Jesus had an advantage over us in that He understood the “why” of His suffering. Often we do not know the why and God never explains it to us. God never told Abraham why he had to wait so long, He never told Moses how hard the job of leading Israel would be. He never told David he was going to run for his life for years and years.
Why? Because the whys belong to God. The knowledge of good and evil is not something we need to know, although we desperately think we need to know it. Josh Bloom describes it as handing the fruit back to God. It’s above our pay grade, so to speak.
I believe there is a way out of the darkness in our souls.
Psalm 22:22 (NASB95) I will tell of Your name to my brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
Praise. It doesn’t seem like much of a weapon, but it is one of the great weapons of heaven to heal a weary, broken heart. In the middle of the pain, praise can redirect our hearts out of the rehearsal of our agony into remembering the goodness of God to us. Getting deep into our souls who God is in His nature and attributes.
Gratitude. To think about, rehearse and remember the blessings we do have that surround us, not what we don’t have. Gratitude is an attitude changer, an anxiety beater and mood lifter. Make a list of the blessings of God in your life. Start with today, it wasn’t owed you, but here you are. You are blessed. Focus on that for a change.
I love you,
Pastor Randy