‘Why?’ is the unanswered question of the human heart, the common cry through suffering; whether through cancer, relational breakdown or injustice. We all learn from an early age that ‘Life’s not fair!’
But is there any answer to the cry of ‘Why?’ The only hope is found in the Bible and it never avoids difficult issues. Nothing is sanitised. Within its pages we see life in all its rawness. Nowhere is this more evident than in the earliest book of the Bible, ‘Job.’ Job seemingly had the perfect life. Suddenly everything went wrong. Loved ones died. He lost everything. He was struck down with agonising sickness. If this weren’t enough his closest relationships broke down. Unsurprisingly Job asked a lot of questions which began with ‘why?’
Throughout the rest of the Old Testament there seemed to be no clear answer to his cry. Then one day heaven opened. The silence was broken. God spoke in the most unlikely way. He broke into our history. God became man. Jesus, the Son of God, walked amongst us and fully experienced the pain of human existence. There was an answer. It may not have been the one we were expecting but it is an answer that offers more hope than we ever deserved.
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” Romans 11:33
God knows everything. There is nothing he doesn’t know. Yet there is a ‘richness’ to his knowledge. It is not cold, clinical and factual. It is deep, rich and personal. He knows us. He knows what we think and long for. He knows how we feel. He empathises with every ache of every heart. He is not indifferent to our sufferings. The depth of his love is displayed through his Son.
We may not have the specific answer to our ‘why’ questions but we can be sure of that he understands our pain and has provided a better answer, Jesus.
Much grace
Steve