Asking God Why?

”At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship“
‭‭Job‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

THE Bible records the story of a man called Job who through his life, reveals to us that life is actually spiritual. Job was godly, upright, blameless, had an incredible reputation, a beautiful big family, Job was a man of impressive wealth and status. By commentary studies, he is noted as a prominent and affluent man. This earned him a good societal position and most probably became the greatest of all the people of the East. As a matter of fact, the bible records that he did a lot of charity work. He was a good man. Now imagine having all this, being all this, l bet you’d be happy and satisfied with your life yes? Then one Monday morning, ( it didn’t happen on a Monday) you lose everything! What would you do? I’ll tell you what people think is the answer : Commit suicide. Drink alcohol. Take drugs. Have sex with everyone with a private part. Reject God. Seek counsel from other gods. I’ll tell you what Job did : He worshipped God.

I was expecting the Bible to say “Then Job took a rope and hung himself” or “Job went around town teaching that God is fake because of his tribulations” (that’s what people do on social media) It is rather unusual for a man to worship in such a situation. I remember the many times I went through hard situations and I’d ask God “Why?” . We are wired to want answers. So we seek for them in everything. Both a blessing and a curse if you ask me. Man has sought for answers to the point of concluding that mankind came from a specie of animals. When we desperately seek for answers, we are also in danger of getting the wrong answers because curiosity can even be fed by demons. Eve’s curiosity made her eat the fruit. Lot’s wife’s curiosity was the cause of her death. While it’s ok to ask questions, remember that the devil is at work too.

Given greater allowance to afflict Job, Satan maximized his work against the man of God by bringing the catastrophe to Job in the span of a few hours. In that limited time Job lost his oxen, his servants, his sheep, his camels, and his sons and daughters. Job mourned, but he did not mourn as the heathens or the pagans mourned. It is important to remember that a man’s first reaction is often very telling, and reveals what really dominates his heart. Worship was Job’s first reaction to his crisis not “Why me?” There were many men of fallen nature that deserved this not Job! Just like you may think “l don’t deserve this, evil people do!” . What happens when we ask God why? He rarely answers. When Job asked later in the book, the response he got was far above what his IQ could handle. Can you handle the answer you seek? When Jesus asked on the cross, did he get the answer? It never comes how we expect it, it comes as a form of understanding as opposed to the feeding of curiosity.

Do you know how many people have sought help from other gods, asking these questions and were told, “Your mother is the witch!” can you handle the answer? Can you have a conversation at Gods level? I hope you understand that man’s wisdom is still a little drop compared to the original plan at the garden where Adam could tap into the mind of God and name everything as God had already named it! I know we want to ask questions because we are hurt, disappointed, angry, expected a different turn of events, believed God for a particular thing , we are in pain! Did Jesus respond to Mary and Martha’s questions? No! He said roll the stone! Forget about trying to understand what you may never understand, roll the stone ! We ask God why, believing the answer will provide us with some kind of deep soul satisfaction. God may not answer the question but He wants you to know that He is in control.

• Moses asked, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant?” Numbers 11:11
• David asked, “Oh Lord why do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” Psalm 10:1
• Habbakuk asked, “Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?” Habbakuk 1:3
• Job asked, “Why have you made me your target?” Job 7:20
• The disciples asked, “Why was this man born blind?” John 9:2
• Jesus on the cross asked God “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46

God has told us in no uncertain terms “for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (Isaiah 55:8). While it is all right to ask God “why,” the answer to that question is sometimes beyond our understanding and ability to accept. In such cases, we must trust God and His unconditional love for us. Many of the Savior’s most profound teachings are based on our faith. The answer to God why is “HAVE FAITH!”

”Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.“
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬