Why God?

The best laid plans of mice and men oft time go awry and

leave us nothing but grief and pain for promised joy.

Robert Burns

We have all experienced plans that have gone wrong and

the grief and pain that resulted from this.

A. Sometimes things went wrong and we really didn’t

even have any plan.

When this happens, we feel so vulnerable to the forces of

life.

A. We wonder why we have to go through these

trials.

1. After all.....Doesn’t God still love us.....does

he not see what’s happening......doesn’t He

care?

When bad things happen, we sometimes feel lost....

abandoned......adrift in a terribly cruel world.

A. Even when we do everything that we can to guard

against these terrible surprises.....bad things still

happen.

ILLUSTRATION: When Dodi and I lost our first baby

after only four days of being in this world, I was

devastated. Why, God!!!!!??????? I was in Bible college at

the time and had dedicated my life to His service. Why

even let us have a baby if you’re going to take it away

before we even have a chance to love and enjoy her? The

whole thing seemed so unfair and so cruel. I had to find

my answers in prayer and study of God’s word. I found

that when some things are better understood, it makes the

pain not quite so hard to bear.

I. The first issue that needs to be understood is

“KNOWLEDGE”.

Psalm 46:10-11 - 10 Be still, and know that I am God; I

will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the

earth!11 The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is

our refuge. Selah

Psalm 83:18: - 18 That they may know thatYou,

whose name alone is the Lord, Are the Most

High over all the earth.

A. We humans.......no matter what time period we’re

discussing......always think that we know all that

there is to know.

1. When someone comes along and tells us that

the Earth travels around the sun and is round,

not flat.......this person is declared a heretic.

a. Why is he a heretic?.......because we

know that the earth is flat and it is the

center of the universe and everything

revolves around IT.

Job 40:6-14 - 6Then the Lord answered Job out

of the whirlwind, and said:7 “Now prepare

yourself like a man; I will question you, and

you shall answer Me:8 “Would you indeed

annul My judgment? Would you condemn

Me that you may be justified?9 Have you an

arm like God? Or can you thunder with a

voice like His?10 Then adorn yourself with

majesty and splendor, and array yourself with

glory and beauty.11 Disperse the rage of

your wrath; Look on everyone who is proud,

and humble him.12 Look on everyone who is

proud, and bring him low; Tread down the

wicked in their place.13 Hide them in the

dust together, Bind their faces in hidden

darkness.14 Then I will also confess to you

That your own right hand can save you.

B. Things come as an unwonted surprise, because we

have everything figured out and this thing that is

happening is not in those plans.

1. We have taken a page out of the fairy tales....

you know the one....”And they all lived

happily, ever after.”

a. When we became a Christian, we fell into

a false belief that nothing bad would

happen to us now.

1.) If we had been wise and thinking,

we would have taken a page out of

“Fox’s Book Of Martyrs”.

a.) Men and women of God were

allowed to be sacrificed on the

altar of persecution......didn’t

God love them?.....Didn’t God

care?........Couldn’t God see

and hear their cries to Him?

C. The truth that we have missed is this.....God’s

plans.....God’s timing......God’s purpose......may

not appear evident to us.

1. Don’t accuse God of not caring....not knowing

.........not seeing or hearing our plight.......

Simply understand that He is following HIS

PLAN........NOT YOUR PLAN!!!

a. God is in firm control of everything.

1.) Even though we may think that we

understand the situation and know

what the proper response should

be...........often we could not

possibly be any more wrong.

a.) Our solution may not be the

right one......we need to defer

to God’s plan.

Jer. 10:23 - 23 O Lord, I know the way of man is not

in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own

steps.

b.) Our timing may be all out of

whack.....we need to patiently

wait on God.

** When one tries to force his will, over God’s will........

This person will always lose.

1. Disasters will really occur and it will be due to

our stubborn will and reckless timing.

II. The next thing that needs to be understood and

remembered....CONSTANTLY.....is that the devil