God marks some of our days, “Will explain later!” -Vance Havner
Why in the world must there be so many “whys” in the world! Why must there be so many “whys” in life! Many years ago when my four children were young and I was preparing a message for Father’s Day I came across a little piece of information that was very startling, yet when I thought about it, very true. The statement was that a child, by the time he reaches the age of fifteen, will ask 500,000 questions! Did you catch that? 500,000 whys! With four children I could hardly comprehend being bombarded with two million questions before my children were old enough to leave home! As those fond memories flash across my memory, I wonder how many times over the years I have said “why” to the heavenly Father?
In studying the Scriptures we find that the Bible is filled with “whys.” Warren Wiersbe in his book, “Why Us?” states that there are over three hundred questions in the book of Job alone! You may also find some of the following “whys” of Scripture familiar:
“If all is well, why am I like this? So she (Rebekah) sent to inquire of the Lord.” Gen. 5:22
“Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me (Moses)? Exodus 5:22
“Why did we (Israelites) ever come out of Egypt?” Numbers 11 :20
“I (Naomi) went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why…?’ Ruth 1 :21
“Why is the house of God forsaken?” Nehemiah in Neh. 13:11
“Why did I (Job) not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb?” Job 3:11
“Why are You so far from helping me (David)?” Psa.22:1
“Why is my pain (Jeremiah) perpetual and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed.” Jeremiah15:18
“Why do You show me (Habakkuk) iniquity, and cause me to see trouble?” Habakkuk 1:3
“Why could we (the disciples) not cast it out?” Matt. 17:19
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matt. 27:46
Yes, life has always been filled with “whys.” In her book, “No Cause for Bitterness,” missionary author Elisabeth Elliot, who lost her husband Jim to martyrdom at the hands of the Auca Indians, lists several Scriptural answers she had found to the question “Why?” They might be good for us to tuck away in the flyleaf of our Bibles: I Peter 4: 12-13; Romans 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 12:9; John 14:31.
As we share in the lives of those to whom we minister and serve, we are often asked “Why?” And, sometimes, at that very same time, we are also asking God “why” regarding some unexplainable occurrence in our lives. When we cannot adequately respond with explanations, we can always live by God’s promises. Vance Havner was right when he said, “God marks across some of our days, “Will explain later.” Havner also said, “One day of green pastures and still waters is followed by dark valleys and miry swamps, and a thousand “whys” lie unanswered, tabled for future reference.”
Only God can answer the “whys” of life, some He may do now, others later. In the meantime, we must continue to trust and be not afraid! GK Chesterton said, “When belief in God becomes difficult, the tendency is to turn away from Him, but in heaven’s name to what?” I close with just one of Elisabeth Elliot’s scriptural answers:
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
II Cor. 12:9-10
Maynard H. Belt