WHY GOD? WHY?
Text: Job 38:1- 7
“Elie Wiesel ….tells a story he heard in a concentration camp: Three rabbis put God on trial for being absent from humanity. They find God guilty as charged. When the trial ends, one rabbi looks at his watch and says, “It’s time for prayers.” The three rabbis who have just condemned God for abandoning them bow their heads to pray.” (John K. Bergland. Ed. Abingdon Preacher’s Annual 1992. Emerson Colaw. “When Doubt Becomes The Friend of Faith”. Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1991, p. 151). Were these rabbis just venting their frustration? Have you ever vented your anger and frustration to God? My question is who has not done that?
Yes, it’s true that Jesus has taken the sting out of death (I Corinthians 15:55) because He conquered and destroyed death which Paul tells us is the last enemy (I Corinthians 15:26). It’s true that Christians can grieve in a way that we still have hope, unlike those who do not believe in God (I Thessalonians 4:13,14). Does that mean we will not heal? Isn’t grieving part of healing? Could we heal if we did not grieve? Can we always make sense out of tragedies? Like Paul tell us as Job discovers, we have to grasp that nothing can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:35 -39). We do not get to that place in our journey without God’s help. We still ask questions. Two of the most common questions that people ask are “Why God, why? and “Is Death final?”
DON’T WE ASK GOD WHY?
Why do bad things happen to good people? How many times have we heard that question? How many times have we asked that question ourselves? What have we said to those who have asked us that question? Are there any magic words that we can say to ease another’s grief? We do not always have the answers. However there is one thing that we can do to minister to those who suffer and those who grieve. Do you know what that one thing is? Just being there for those who are suffering or grieving. Months down the road, people might not remember what you said, but they will remember that you were there for them even though you did not have all the answers.
Another why question we often ask is “God why would you allow this to happen and why now? When we ask a question like that, we are implying that things are not fair. Life is not always fair. Like Job, we want some answers--- we want to know if there was some purpose that was served by the suffering, heartbreak and tragedy. While I was at Cokesbury for my book signing, I met another author and bought his book which deals with the topic I am preaching about today. Pastor Stephen Singleton, author of A New Outlook, wrote the following words:
I have seen too much pain and suffering on this planet to believe that God designs the tragedies in our world. I have come to the conclusion that God does not place tragedy, calamity, misfortune and heartbreak at our feet. We are supposed to bring our adversities and catastrophes and leave them at His feet. No one has ever helped their healing by blaming God for their pain. It may seem understandable to blame God. It may appear logical to point the finger at God, but in cases I have witnessed, it seems to cause more anger. A more important step toward healing is not to see God as the author of pain and anguish, but to understand that God is the source of our healing. We bring the hurt and the suffering to God, and from there God helps us to bear the burdens we are carrying. … When we attribute pain to God’s will, it would seem logical that we would receive more pain when we go to God with our sorrow. God is not the source of our pain. The enemy---Satan is the source of our pain. (Pastor Stephen Singleton. A New Outlook. Bloomington, Indiana: Westbow Press, 2011, p. 14). We need to remember that God is in control.
IS DEATH FINAL ?
Did Job ever question if death was final? Yes, he did. He also questioned how long God’s anger would last. Look at Job 14:7 – 14: There is hope for a tree that has been cut down; it can come back to life and sprout. 8 Even though its roots grow old, and its stump dies in the ground, 9 with water it will sprout like a young plant. 10 But we die, and that is the end of us; we die, and where are we then? 11 Like rivers that stop running, and lakes that go dry, 12 people die, never to rise. They will never wake up while the sky endures; they will never stir from their sleep. 13 I wish you would hide me in the world of the dead; let me be hidden until your anger is over, and then set a time to remember me. 14 If a man dies, can he come back to life? But I will wait for better times, wait till this time of trouble is ended. (GNB).
Death is a part of life. It is obviously not a part of life that we are happy with. Paul describes life as a tent that will one day be taken down (II Corinthians 5:1- 5). Considering that Paul was a tentmaker (Acts 18:3), this was a good analogy for our lifespan and what God provides a place for believers in eternity. As one pastor put it …
"To believe that God is good color our lives aright. Formerly, we let life color God. Fatal accidents prompted us to ask, “How could a good God permit this?” The colors ran and distorted our concept of God. Now we begin with God, let Him color our lives, and realize that most tragedies cannot be blamed on God, but on man’s ignorance, greed and stupidity. Every day more than a hundred people are killed in car accidents, the price we pay for mobility. God has nothing to do it, except to offer consolation and a warning.” (Jim & Doris Morentz eds. Misinter’s Annual: Preaching in 1989. Wally Cedarleaf. “Gut Conclusions”. Nashville: Abindgon Press, 1988, p. 113). Again, back to analogy, we know that death is not final because God gives believers an place in eternity, with immortal and perfect bodies because heaven is a perfect place.
God answers Job. The book of Job goes on for 37 chapters before God answers Job. When it comes to the thirty-eighth chapter of Job, Max Lucado put it this way: God flood the sky with queries, and Job cannot help but get the point: only God defines God. You’ve got to know the alphabet before you can read, and God tells Job, “You don’t even know the ABCs of heaven, much less the vocabulary.” For the first time, Job is quiet. Silenced by a torrent of questions. … Notice the change. Before he heard God, Job couldn’t speak enough. After he heard God, he couldn’t speak at all.” (Max Lucado. For The Tough Times. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006, pp. 59, 61). When Job replies to all God’s questions and comments that start in Job 38:2 and stop at Job 40:2 Job replies, “I am unworthy ----how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth” (NIV).
Have we ever had to “put our hands over our mouths” because we dared to question God as if we are putting him on trial? Job 38:2 says “Who is this darkening counsel with words lacking [absolute] knowledge? (Job 38:2 CEB). Someone (Timothy Owings) asks a poignant question: “What if God’s questions to Job are God’s questions to us?” (David N. Mosser. ed. The Abingdon Preaching Annual 2003 Edition. Timothy Owings. “God’s Hope For A Storm Tossed Life.” Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002, p. 349). God loves us far beyond our comprehension because nothing can separate us from God’s love! John 3:16 is proof of that promise!
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