The 25th letter of the alphabet

Why me?

Why now?

Why do I have to wait?

Why is this happening?

Why is this not happening for me?

Why am I still single?

Why haven’t I been promoted?

Why did they reject me?

Why do I have to go through this again?!

Why, why, why? (For my readers that may have kids or are around children in any capacity, I feel your pain. I know this one word question, sometimes preceded by a “but” or accompanied by a whiny voice, may cause some to, let’s say, experience ‘intense’ feelings. I totally get it!)

As I was pondering a title of a Youtube video I watched last week, I began thinking about some other questions….

AND

Answers.

Considering we probably ask this one word question more often than we would like to admit, I began to wonder about some things.

What if I received the answers to these questions?

What if I was answered by the One who is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent- directly?

What if He came down from heaven, sat down with me at one of my favorite spots, Panera, and we had coffee and He plainly answered all these questions ? (Jesus just seems like a Panera kind of dude….I’m just saying!) 

Would His answers change how I lived?

Should they?

What if He told me exactly why I was still waiting to be married?

Or why all of my close friends are still single and waiting all this time?

Everyone else seems to have the answers to these questions-none of which may be accurate, but…I digress.

What if He laid it all out for me why I didn’t get that promotion or get accepted to my top school?

What if He did tell me the exact reason why I have to go around this mountain again for the 17th time

OR

Why all of these very difficult things are happening in my or my loved one’s life right now?

Truth be told, we DO know some of the answers to the questions we are asking, but we are either in denial or just want to ignore what is so blatantly obvious.

Yet for the ones we don’t have answers for, I wonder.

Would the answers to those questions change how I/we did life?

How would/wouldn’t they change?

What difference would it make for me/us right now if He was to fully and honestly answer all these ‘Why” questions?

I came to a few conclusions while thinking about all of this. I am reminded of a quote I read a few years back by Rosaria Butterfield, author of The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, a book that was a part of the book club I was in at the time.

“Obedience comes before understanding. I wanted to understand…I learned that we must obey in faith before we feel better or different.”

1. God’s answers to our questions  followed by our response to life moving forward reveals a condition of our hearts.
2. “Why” questions somehow give off the impression of a sense of entitlement, pride and/or arrogance.
3. “Why” questions also reveal our level of maturity as it relates to our seasons of waiting.
4. The truth is: the Word/God does not change.  Only time, us and others do. And we are supposed to change-to look more like Christ, whether we know the reasons or not.
5. These questions take the focus off of God and on to self, thus possibly leading to self-pity, stagnation and sometimes a false sense of humility.
6. He may have already told us the answer in various ways, but somehow we think if we keep asking “Why”, like children often do, it will change His answer.
7. We simply don’t trust Him enough or believe that it is much more important that He knows those answers rather than us knowing.

Thankfully, the Lord is not afraid of any question we may ask nor does anything we ask catch Him by surprise.  As we consider Him while we are waiting:

May our “whys” be turned into questions that begin with “what”and “how” instead.

May our motivation in this waiting season be solely dependent on seeking first His Kingdom and righteousness, that all these things may be added unto us (Matthew 6:33)-even if those things are very different from the things, opportunities, seasons for which we are waiting.

Reflection:

What do you want me to see or learn in this place, at this time, in this season?

How do you desire for me/my life to bring glory to You in this moment?

What do You want to teach me as I wait?

What are you trying to break in me in order for me to look more like Your Son, Jesus?