Trading a “why” for a “what”!

 

It’s Not Why but What?

What is happening in Japan is a mind-boggling event.  Many just a few hours south of Sendai are going on with business as usual in Tokyo.  Every time I watch a news clip or watch a video on the internet – I hold my breath. My congregation sent a team that spent four weeks in Mississippi after Katrina hit.  Being there was overwhelming for us emotionally, physically and spiritually on our first visit.  By our fourth trip we had softened to the devastation but never really fathomed the entire scope of the matter.  I can’t imagine actually being in Japan and seeing this up close.

At times like this many people ask “Why?”  We really don’t know but to ask questions.  Our finite mind can in no way process what only an infinite God can understand.  There are laws that He himself placed in order.  The world spins on the axis of His creation.  He and He alone can bring such disaster to any sense of process for us mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

I sat with one of our brothers in the Lord this morning and listened to him share with me how his brother-in-law may be facing colon cancer.  He shared how they sat and wept at what could be devastating news for this man and his family.  No one wants to hear the “C” word – no matter how it is communicated to us.  My heart was heavy after hearing this report.   As I listened to this revelation I was reminded of something in scripture.  It was an event that Jesus faced when the question of “why” could have been a much more complicated issue for Him.

The story is in John chapter nine.

John 9:1-4

(1)  As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.

(2)  And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?”

(3)  Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

(4)  “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.

Although the disciples asked “who sinned” they may have well as asked “why”.  From earthquakes to tsunamis to the “c” word – we all ask “why” from time to time.  The disciples weren’t wrong for their question.  They were human.  It was a teaching point for Christ.  Here is the point.  It is better to ask “what” than to ask “why.”   Jesus taught this in John nine.

You see with our finite minds there is no way we can comprehend the questions as to “why”.  We just can’t. One question answered normally leads to another, and another and another.  You get the picture.  Endless questions from a finite mind seeking infinite knowledge we will never comprehend in the first place.  The easier thought is to trade the “why” for the “what.”

What can I learn from this affliction, trial, event or season in m life?

What will be the demand of my faith?

What can I do to glorify Christ with this issue?

What will my testimony do for others as I endure this affliction?

 

The list of “what” could be endless.  I leave your imagination to work this out.  My point is that we are creatures of curiosity.  We just want to know “why” sometimes.  Nothing wrong with it.  But the bottom line is that we just can’t get all our “why’s” answered in life.  I would rather approach life with a what instead of a why.

I have faced a lot of crisis with families in over thirty years of ministry.  I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked “why” when facing a crisis, a tragedy or even the loss of life.  There are simply not enough answers…if any at all in some cases.  All I know is that there is a God who loves us beyond our understanding and comprehension.  If my crisis is beyond my understanding and God’s love is beyond my understanding – I would rather decide to trust Him to get me through what I can’t understand.  His love is greater than my crisis. His love is more compassionate than my comprehension of any life adjusting trial or season.

Life.  As complicated as it can be from time to time – He still simplifies our questions by leading us to trade the “why” for a “what.”   I can deal with the “what” a lot “easier” and now and then I can appreciate an “easier” day. How about you?