My brother passed away this past January and from time to time I struggle with "why?"
But I'm not alone, we all ask tons of "why's" ....
Why do some women, desperate for a baby, struggle through infertility?
Why do parents have to bury their children?
Why in the world do good people get diagnosed with cancer?
Why do brave soldiers never make it home, leaving behind a young family?
***If He has some great plan, where on earth would famine, disease, war, car wrecks, terrorist attacks .... where exactly do those fall into His "Great Plan?"
I'm calling BS on the cliche answers, "God has a reason ... God just needed another flower for His Garden in Heaven!"
Sorry! But nowhere in the Bible can I find anything about God taking my brother away for some "reason"! - Other than the fact that my brother, you, me .... none of us were created for this earth.
While I too don't really love the idea of "just wait until heaven," I mean - don't get me wrong, I do long to know Jesus and be with Him forever .... but for now I'm doing ok down here - thanks! Not quite ready t go to heaven.... that is part of the answer.
So where is the rest, where's the answer to these "whys?"
Well, I think we first have to look at the ways in which we've tried to answer the question for centuries. We try to find meaning in God, His "actions," based on worldly standards.
And when you look at it this way, yeah - it really doesn't make sense ...
"God can't heal," is what we'd believe .... just look - thousands of people are dying and diagnosed with new diseases every day!
"God can't defeat evil," is what we'd believe ... just look at the hatred and evil in terrorist attacks and wars happening around our country .... look at the evil in some marriages, in the way we talk to and about one another ....
"God can't defeat death," is what we'd believe ... because well we die! It's a simple fact of life!
So where do we find the answers we need .... well, we need to remember that while we all have breakable bodies that succumb to alzheimers, ALS, Lymphoma, and can't withstand the impact of a car crash ..... our souls, our hearts - they weren't created for this world.
You and me, as God's precious children, we at our core, were not designed for this world! That's why it pains us so much sometimes!!! We're longing for something greater, we're searching for answers to the unexplainable ... we're just looking in the wrong places.
While we are in this world, Jesus says, "you will know trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world!"
Through His death on the cross, He defeated Satan, He defeated death - so that He could live in our hearts, He could be in our souls, the core of who we are ... that is where He is.
He died to give you the gift of the Holy Spirit .... for the now.
We're still down here, and He cares about us so much, He died on a cross, so that He could send the Holy Spirit to be with you, as you're lying next to that hospital bed, begging Him to heal your loved one.
He's living inside of your heart to comfort you when the phone rings with that horrible, life-altering news.
He's living inside of your heart so that He can hold you up, give you the strength to put one foot in front of the other when you're so exhausted you can't fathom doing it alone.
He is that inner strength, that inner peace, that inner joy - that simply can't be explained.
"In this world, we do know trouble," but He doesn't leave us down here to figure it out! He is lovingly guiding you, grabbing hold of your heart and begging you to come into a deeper relationship with Him!
Y'all - I can't imagine having to fight this world alone. I've tried, and it's just so dang hard on my own!
I need Jesus to be my light, my comfort, my shield and my guide.
And the real answer I've discovered .... the more I seek Him, the easier I find Him. The more I see His presence in my daily life, the more I see Him at work - instead of blaming Him for what's going wrong.
I invite you, friends, if you're ready to dive a little deeper, get to know Him a little better .... even if it's just to understand one of your "why's" a little more ..... join me next week on a journey!
I'm going to be leading an extremely simple Bible Study through parts of Romans.
We will take 1 to 2 verses a day (THAT'S IT!) and I will guide you through meditating on these verses, praying these verses, and listening for what God wants to tell you, specifically, YOU, in those verses each day.
It's 10 weekdays, short and sweet - but I promise you'll walk away changed, if you really open up your heart.
Please comment below, email, text, or call me if you're interested!
Love and Blessings!
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