Knowing When to Ask Why

I think when seasons like this come about, we have a natural tendency to want to ask...Why.  Maybe we're prone to desire answers because we're so focused on our own little world that we can't seem to comprehend the purpose for "interruptions."  Maybe we want to know because somewhere deep down we know we've been off for awhile, and we willingly ignored the signs that change was coming.  Or perhaps, just perhaps, we need to somehow understand why because we're caught battling our fears of the unknown, of what we know we can't control, of failure, or even pain.  After my appointment with the oncologist, I found myself asking why for all of the above.  At the time, I didn't understand that like I do now.  It was all just a mess of information, emotion, and more questions. 

That said, I do think it is important to ask why when we're faced with difficult seasons.  However, I think asking is only effective when we ask with a humble, submissive heart, and when we're willing to wait long enough to listen for the answer.  Sometimes God needs to prepare your heart for you to be able to hear the answer, and there's a lot to be said in waiting for it.  Under those conditions it's important to ask why because sometimes the seasons in which we find ourselves are largely based on what we've sown, whether in word or action.  Psalm 10:17, "Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble, You will prepare their heart; You will cause your ear to hear."  And if you find yourself going before God, shaking fists, stubborn-hearted, demanding an explanation as to why you're faced with difficult circumstances, why He let it happen, or why you, why now.....well, you're not going to see much beyond those fists, and you're certainly not going to hear much outside of your own demands.

One thing I understood early on in all of this: God didn't give me cancer.  It's not His will that I have it.  He's not wanting it to stay in my body so He can teach me something.  2 Timothy 3:16-17, "Every Scripture passage is inspired by God.  All of them are useful for teaching, pointing out errors, correcting people, and training them for a life that has God's approval.  They equip God's servants so that they are completely prepared to do good things."  God gave us His Word, everything we need to learn and apply to our lives is written there.  God doesn't need you to suffer to teach you how to live.  He simply told you and empowered you to do it.  It's your choice whether or not you apply it to your life and situations. 

Some of you may say, "It's not fair.  God could've stopped it from happening."  I have learned that everything about that kind of thinking is the complete opposite of a humble heart.  We need to understand that God has integrity.  Here's an exciting revelation for you in Hebrews 6:17-20...

God wouldn't change his plan.  He wanted to make this perfectly clear to those who would receive his promise, so he took an oath.  God did this so that we would be encouraged.  God cannot lie when he takes an oath or makes a promise.  These two things can never be changed.  Those of us who have taken refuge in him hold on to the confidence we have been given.  We have this confidence as a sure and strong anchor for our lives.  This confidence goes into the holy place behind the curtain where Jesus went before us on our behalf.

He doesn't go back on His Word because He doesn't like the outcome of what we choose, or because He doesn't feel like honoring it anymore.  When God says something, it simply is.  God gave you free will.  He gave you choice.  Some circumstances in your life are the fruit of your own choices, and until you humble yourself before God to activate what His Word says you can do, what you can have, and who you are in Christ, then there's not a whole lot God can do about it.  That's why understanding and integrating what the Word of God says, what it really says and the truth it holds, is so important.  2 Corinthians 1:20, "For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us."  Being humble when you ask God is the only thing that will get you the answers you don't know how to understand on your own.

Now, sometimes the seasons we face don't have a direct answer.  Sometimes our choices aren't the sum of what happens to us.  Sometimes we are persecuted.  Sometimes we are enduring the consequences of someone else's mistakes and short-comings.  And sometimes...sometimes things just happen.  Whether they are a result of genes, or time, or environment.  Sometimes you come to realize that the why doesn't really matter at all. 

It doesn't matter because you know the "what" is greater than they "why."  What you do about what you face will define you in a far more greater way than why it happened.  I believe when we ask why, it gives us the opportunity to examine ourselves, not God.  And when we do that, we are more prepared and able to face what comes, and believe beyond what we see simply because we have God's promises.  Promises that will come in time.  Promises that cannot fail us if we believe.  God promises in Psalm 91:14-16, "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.  He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.  With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation."

Now, I didn't understand all these things I'm writing you about when I asked God why.  I'm writing this on November 8, 2012.  My answers didn't start to unfold until I respected the process God has lead me through in the weeks that have passed.  However, back during Week 2 of all this, I knew if I was patient and persistent, God would answer me.  God would show me the greater good in time.  God didn't want me to quit asking questions, He just wanted me to continue to work out my salvation in this situation trusting in Him to bring it to fruition, to bring it to good.  Job did the same thing when he was faced with unbearable circumstances.  He had real conversations with God about his process, and he rebuked those that tried to tell him otherwise in Job 13.  He rejected the "fake it til you make it" crowd, and chose to be real with God with his lack of understanding, with his pain, and with his own humanity.  And guess what?  God met him there.

It wasn't long after I asked, that God told me to start blogging.  And as I've stepped out in faith to do it, God has met me here as I look back, as I learn how to see everything that's happened in the last two months through His perspective.  For whatever reason, God told me to include you in this process, and I pray that it serves you where you are at in your process.


**This blog is based on events that happened in September 2012, but was written in November 2012.