"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." Psalm 42:11
There are times in our lives where the question "why" seems very appropriate. We hear of things that we cannot explain, such as the death of someone we know or care about, or a sudden loss, or an unexplained illness, and the natural question that comes to mind is, "why"? After all, it doesn't make sense to us. And perhaps even more relevant, it doesn't seem fair.
This morning I learned that a classmate of mine from my master's program has died. In the past year, that makes the third classmate that has left this life and has received their eternal inheritance. None of these men were much older than I am. To the outward appearance, none of these deaths make much sense.
I know that there are many well-intentioned people who would answer the "why" question with something along the lines of "This was God's plan, and it doesn't make sense to us, but it does to God." I must admit that I don't find any comfort in that. From my reading of the Bible, death has never been part of God's plan, except for the case of Jesus. God did not create this world to die, but to live. God did not create the man and the woman to die, but to live with Him in perfect relationship forever. It was their choice to go against what God said that led to death. Death simply is not part of God's plan.
The more, all-compassing answer to the "why" question is the presence of sin in the world. Why do things like this happen? Sin is the answer. And the reality is, when things like this happen, we may find it hard to look favorably at God. It seems that even the person who wrote the Psalm that I quoted above found it hard to do. He says, "I will again praise Him," which seems to indicate that right now, at this moment, he isn't praising God. And yet, he realizes that the question cannot be adequately answered if God is not part of it. That's why he says to "hope in God," and calls God his salvation.
The question "why" will probably never be adequately explained to us while we live here on earth. It's very likely that, when we come into our eternal inheritance, everything will make greater sense. But in those times when "why" is being asked, when hope seems so far away, we need the reminder of this verse. "I shall again praise Him, my God and my salvation. That's why it relies upon God to bring this about, and not upon ourselves. Thanks be to God for that.
There are times in our lives where the question "why" seems very appropriate. We hear of things that we cannot explain, such as the death of someone we know or care about, or a sudden loss, or an unexplained illness, and the natural question that comes to mind is, "why"? After all, it doesn't make sense to us. And perhaps even more relevant, it doesn't seem fair.
This morning I learned that a classmate of mine from my master's program has died. In the past year, that makes the third classmate that has left this life and has received their eternal inheritance. None of these men were much older than I am. To the outward appearance, none of these deaths make much sense.
I know that there are many well-intentioned people who would answer the "why" question with something along the lines of "This was God's plan, and it doesn't make sense to us, but it does to God." I must admit that I don't find any comfort in that. From my reading of the Bible, death has never been part of God's plan, except for the case of Jesus. God did not create this world to die, but to live. God did not create the man and the woman to die, but to live with Him in perfect relationship forever. It was their choice to go against what God said that led to death. Death simply is not part of God's plan.
The more, all-compassing answer to the "why" question is the presence of sin in the world. Why do things like this happen? Sin is the answer. And the reality is, when things like this happen, we may find it hard to look favorably at God. It seems that even the person who wrote the Psalm that I quoted above found it hard to do. He says, "I will again praise Him," which seems to indicate that right now, at this moment, he isn't praising God. And yet, he realizes that the question cannot be adequately answered if God is not part of it. That's why he says to "hope in God," and calls God his salvation.
The question "why" will probably never be adequately explained to us while we live here on earth. It's very likely that, when we come into our eternal inheritance, everything will make greater sense. But in those times when "why" is being asked, when hope seems so far away, we need the reminder of this verse. "I shall again praise Him, my God and my salvation. That's why it relies upon God to bring this about, and not upon ourselves. Thanks be to God for that.
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