Why, God? Why?

Have you ever asked yourself that question? Something happened that you thought was not "in the will of God" for you, when actually it was not in your will... Let's take a look at a few dear saints that could have asked why:

1. Job
Dear Job would have had full rights to ask God why he had suffering, would he not have? It says in Job 1:1 that “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” Can you get much better than that? No, that verse is not saying that Job had no sin, but it is strongly intimating that he lived a pure life before God and man. And yet, when stripped of all this earth had to offer, even his children, the bible records that:

“...Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” Job 1:20-22

When the devil realized that he could not shake Job from his secure resting-place in God's will by taking 'stuff' away, he came to the conclusion that he must touch his body. Now, I don't know about you, but I know that if everything I had was taken away, and then I got sick, I would not be blessing the Lord for his prior benefits... I tend to look on the present, and forget the past when things like that happen.

“So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” Job 2:7-10

“In all this did not Job sin with his lips...”

2. Abraham
Here we have a man that was promised by God to have an heir... Then just as the promised son was about the right age, his Father's pride and joy, God asked him to sacrifice the lad. Talk about a hard task! Here Abraham has waited 80+ years for a son, and now God was asking him to KILL him! Just think about it for a little while. We know the end result of the story, but Abraham did not... He had a three-day journey to get to Mount Moriah. Can you just imagine the terrible turmoil that must have been coursing through his head as they journeyed? Here your son is oblivious to all of it, talking along with his father... He must have wondered about Abraham's unwonted melancholia. Think of how hard it would have been to answer your boy when he asked this simple question:

“And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, ‘Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’ And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:’ so they went both of them together.” Genesis 22:7, 8

God, WHY!!! You PROMISED ME! -- But no, he just went on, knowing that God was in control.... And because of the faith and obedience, it was through his line that all the nations of the earth are blessed — through Jesus Christ our Lord.

3. David
Another man after God's own heart... Did he just attain that status because he was better than us? No! He suffered, and submitted to the suffering! Because of that, his heart was bent toward the Lord's. How would you like to be anointed as a king, and then get put back out to feeding sheep? And then after you are promoted to a captain of Israel's army, the king tries to kill you! You are a vagabond and fugitive in your OWN kingdom! Imagine him in the cave overlooking the armies of Saul that are in an all-out attempt to eradicate the 'renegade' king. He could have looked out over that throng, and said: "God, WHY? What is the purpose of this evil man chasing me all over Israel, humiliating and disgracing both your name and mine?" But he rather chose to let it make him a better man. Look at the outpouring of his heart:

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.” Psalms 27:1-5

......to be continued......