Asking Why

Not long ago, a woman who had lost a child told me, "Greg, all I can ask is, ‘Why? Why?’ " Then she said, "Is it wrong to ask why?"

I told her, "I don’t think it is wrong. You can ask why all you want. Jesus asked it: ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ " I added, "Don’t necessarily expect an answer. And even if God were to give one, I don’t know if you would really like it."

Why? Why? What if God actually answered that question? It happened to Habakkuk. He was asking God why certain things were transpiring. They didn’t make any sense to him, and so God said, "Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it" (Habakkuk 1:5).

Habakkuk essentially answered, "Try me."

And when God told him why, Habakkuk didn’t like God’s answer. He didn’t agree with it.

God could tell us why. But we are never going to get it until we get to Heaven and see things as they really are.

So maybe instead of asking why, a better question would be, "What?" as in, "What do You want me to do?"

What God wants you to do is to call on Him. When people come to me and are suffering, when they ask me for answers, I tell them, "I don’t have an answer. But here is what I have: Turn to God. Lean on Jesus. Cling to Him. Pray."

One day, the whys will be resolved. Until then, it is all about whom and what. It is about whom we turn to and what we do. So when tragedy hits, don’t run from God; turn to Him.