Unanswerable Questions

"He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him" (Psalm 91:15a).

Do your younger children drive you crazy with all their questions each day? With an insatiable desire to know "why," they ask a barrage of unending questions that parents are forced to answer as best they can. Some questions like "Why is the sky blue?" and "Where do babies come from?" might set us back for a few minutes as we think of the best way to answer. But other questions like "Why did Grandpa die?" and "Why did God let my sister get cancer?" pose a much bigger challenge. Sometimes, questions are simply unanswerable and the "whys" of life's problems have no answer keys for us to use.

Like little children, countless men and women in the Bible also asked questions when they struggled through the "whys" of life's difficulties. Job's life is one such example. After suffering horrific loss of belongings, family, and health, he sat down and asked God "why" in Job 31. God never gave Job an outright answer, but He did counteract Job's question with a few questions of His own, including "Where were you when I created the world?" Confessing his ignorance in questioning a Holy God, Job reached the point of submissive humility and brokenness. "Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not"(Job 42:3).

Are you looking for some answers to the "whys" in your life? Is the pain and suffering that you're experiencing causing you to wonder, "Where is God? Doesn't He know what is happening to me?" Perhaps God is taking you to a new level of trusting in Him, or He is trying to teach you a deeper truth. Either way, God has not left you. He sees your every tear and will deliver you in His time. Will you continue to hope in Him and wait for His answer? "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God" (Psalm 43:5).

Lord, I acknowledge that You alone are God. I lay my burden at Your feet and ask You to strengthen me to face this problem in my life. Even if I never know "why," I will continue to trust in You and Your love for me. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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