Why?
Ever asked yourself that question? My guess is that you have, just as I have. Probably a LOT of times. I have met people who can let things roll right off them and seemingly are able to take a big hit in life and shake it off and keep on moving forward without much stopping and mulling over what had just happened to them. Others, like yours truly, seem to be obsessed with figuring out the WHY? behind everything before we can move ahead. It’s like a bunch of mental boxes that need to be checked so that it makes some kind of sense before we can put the car back into drive after being in neutral or park.
The logic trail gets a bit odd too, doesn’t it? For example, If God is real, then why does He allow so much suffering? If God is loving, why are there so many horrible things going on in the world? If God is fair, why does it seem that the bad guys are getting ahead, while I am stuck in the ditch? We are all looking for it all to make sense. Something to “connect the dots” that we can point to and say, “THIS is why that happened” or “I did “A” so “B” was the natural outcome of my actions.” If you are the type that rolls right along no matter what, you probably won’t find the rest of this blog very interesting but if you are a searcher like me, please hang around a little longer as I share some ideas that I have been wrestling with lately after my recent diagnosis with prostate cancer.
WHY? indeed.
Once I received my diagnosis it was just one of those moments where my head drops and I sit in disbelief. Even though this has been monitored for several years now and I knew it was likely going to happen “one day” it was still a gut shot to hear the news. I felt like I had been digging out of the emotional hole of my late wife’s passing for the past four years and that I was starting to see life getting better and was making strides in health and relationships and then here we are again with something serious to deal with. WHY now? WHY this?
I am not looking for sympathy in sharing this because there are a LOT of other people that are dealing with much more serious things in their lives. I have a great support system, I have great doctors that are on the ball giving me great advice, I live in a city that has the facilities and ability to give me great care, I can pay for these services, and the outlook is very positive for me. I am very blessed and fortunate so I’m not whining or complaining but just venting a little and trying to answer that question once again…. WHY?
I would bet that anyone that has experienced pain, loss, heartbreak, betrayal or other similar things has asked the WHY question. I would also bet that all of us have at least one traumatic experience that trumps the rest of the other challenges in life that has made us cry out WHY? If that is so, then is the question to ask God, why do You allow so much suffering? or is there another more appropriate question to be asking?
Yesterday a friend of mine who also has been dealing with the grief of losing his wife sent me a video that touched him, and he sent it to me knowing that I am searching as he is for the answers. The video was by a gentleman named Daryl Black and Mr. Black gave a great answer to the question “Why does God allow so much suffering?” His thoughts resonated with me, and I wanted to share them with you and others in hopes that it may encourage you too. I also ran across a story in the Bible that I thought was relative that I wanted to share as well.
Thank you for checking my blog out today, I hope it will encourage you as we travel along together.
But First…A Joke:
Every night after work, a doctor named Richard stopped off at a bar for a chicory daiquiri. The bartender would always have the drink waiting at precisely 5:01 p.m.
One afternoon, as five o’clock approached, the bartender noticed that he was completely out of chicory. Improvising, he concocted a daiquiri made with hickory nuts and set it on the bar. The doctor came in at 5:01 p.m., took one sip of the drink, and shouted, “This isn’t a chicory daiquiri!”
“No,” replied the bartender, “It’s not a chicory daiquiri, Dick. It’s a hickory daiquiri, Doc.”
Bonus Dad Joke:
Q: What is red and bad for your teeth?
A: A brick.
A Verse to Contemplate:
If the Lord does not build the house, the work of the builders is useless; if the Lord does not protect the city, it does no good for the sentries to stand ground. Psalm 127:1
Have I Told You This One?
The WHY question is more emotional than intellectual. It comes from a place of hurt, not just doubt. The presence of pain in our lives doesn’t mean there is an absence of God in our lives. It feels that way sometime to me but that is not so. I/we seem to hate pain for obvious reasons, but pain may be the very thing that wakes us up to His presence. In His great wisdom God gave us free will and with free will comes the potential for pain. Unfortunately, free will is a two-sided coin. Love without choice is not love but coercion. The fact that He gave us free will is a testament to His deep love for us all. If you think about it, God could stop every act of evil, but He would also have to stop every act of freedom to do it.
The next logical question then might me, why doesn’t He just remove all the evil people? Problem solved right? Well, ask yourself this question, if God removed all the evil people at midnight tonight how many of us would be here at 12:01? As painful as the answer is, we are all evil and would not survive the purge.
The encouraging thing to note is that He doesn’t just sit above all the suffering, He steps into it. How’s that Rutmachine? Glad you asked.
Jesus felt the whole scale of suffering, He endured it. He is not absent in my suffering. He is present and He promises to redeem it. So, the better question to ask is who is going to walk with me through my pain versus why it was allowed.
In my readings this week I ran across a story that also resonated with me and my new trials to navigate. In John 5:1-9 there is a story about the Bethesda Pools that were used to cure many ailments back in the day. The pool of Bethesda was a well-known place for healing. The Jewish people believed that an angel would come down and stir up the water in the pool, and the first person to jump into the pool after the waters had been disturbed would be miraculously healed. Apparently, you needed to be ready when the water started bubbling and get in before the others.
The Scripture is as follows:
Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. [John 5:1-9]
This seems like a strange situation: Jesus comes to this pool, and around it is a lot of people suffering from various ailments. The verse says the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed. This was probably anyone and everyone who was sick. People there could have some serious ailments, whether physical or perhaps psychological. Why were they there?
There are two main characters to this story: Jesus and this man who is paralyzed. He suffered from this terrible condition for 38 years. I cannot imagine how he must have felt: wanting to move around, but unable to for so long. Wanting to get into that water for healing, but he’s paralyzed—how can he possibly hope to get into the pool first? It’s a sad picture.
· DO YOU WANT TO GET WELL?
Verse six says that when Jesus learned of this paralyzed man’s condition, and that he was paralyzed for a long time, he asks a strange question: do you want to get well? It should be obvious—the man is here by the pool looking for healing. You would think this man would say, “Yes, please!”
But the answer the man gives is even stranger. He says, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred.” He points to others who get in before he can. In other words, his answer is, “Yes, but no one is helping me.” Yes… but which is the same as Yes… and no. He’s torn—he cannot say “yes, please!”
This is so true to life. This man was paralyzed for 38 years. He had gotten used to the fact that he was this way—he had lost hope that something could change. He saw others going into the pool before him for years—he felt like the situation was impossible. In a way, he had declared a truce with his condition. He got used to who he was, and nothing was going to change anytime soon. He’s not just paralyzed physically—he’s paralyzed spiritually, paralyzed as a person.
Jesus’ question is much deeper than this man’s physical condition. It’s both physical and spiritual. Jesus’ question implies that he CAN heal this man—but does the man truly want to be healed?
I have an obvious physical ailment, and I have had my fill of some of life’s challenges over the past decade or so, but I also have a sin problem. We are all paralyzed spiritually by sin. All of us can imagine at least one thing about ourselves that is wrong. Honestly, I think all of us can name many things about ourselves that are not right: I should be more loving. I should be more patient with people. I shouldn’t get lost in anger and my temper. I shouldn’t have so many complaints. I should be a better friend. I shouldn’t be so haunted by my past. I recognize these sorts of things inside—but what do I do about them? Good intentions not being lived out. In a sense, I am also paralyzed.
Jesus comes to me/us with the same question: do you want to get well? It sounds wonderful. But I realize my own paralysis when I hear that this invitation and my response is something like this: I’m not going to change. It sounds too good to be true. I don’t want to get let down again. I got used to being the victim and the tragic hero of my own story.
· GET UP
Jesus knows that we often feel paralyzed inside. His response to the paralytic speaks volumes: he heals him. The man never said, “Yes, Jesus please heal me!” He is paralyzed as a person. Jesus responds by telling him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk!” This is amazing. And when the man listens, even though he is torn inside, he is healed. He can walk again. Even despite his doubts, unbelief, cynicism, or sense of hopelessness, he experiences this miracle.
Jesus is looking for the blind, lame and paralyzed people—people like you and me. The promise and gift he brings is this promise of healing—spiritual restoration. Even if we have doubts, even if we feel hopeless, that is the gift that Jesus brings. We only need to respond to him and to his question: do you want to get well? He is asking that question to you and me today.
It is something how my attention can become laser focused when there is a crisis to deal with. When life just cruises along, perhaps I get complacent. It does seem that the suffering allows me to see that God is walking with me through all of life’s challenges. I am hopeful and pray that God will cure my cancer and that He will be glorified in the process. I have amazing people that I am blessed to know that are battling life’s challenges. I hope that I can encourage others and show God’s love through the process. Let’s pray for each other and rest in the hope that is in all of us. I know that God has a plan for my life and yours.
So, the question is not WHY? But rather WHO? I’m okay with that. I DO want to get better. I’m tired of sitting beside the pool paralyzed and waiting for some mysterious thing that will make it all better. My answer needs to be YES, please! And not anything else. He Can, I believe.
A Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I praise you with my heart, I praise You with my head, I praise You with my breath. You alone are worthy of my praise.
Book Recommendation:
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey (2020/2024)
Music Recommendation:
Coming Up for Air by Michael Stanley (1995)
Quote of the Day:
“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” - Margaret Mead
Cool Place to Visit:
Nashville, Tennessee