why ask why

we all have something that has happened in our lives that has caused us anger, confusion, grief, sorrow, and discouragement. thats when the age old question of "Why do bad things happen to good people?" comes into play. or my other favorite that I actually have been asked, "how can a good God let bad things happen?"

the doctor says the cancer is incurable.
or that your son was in a car accident.
your boss says that the economy has laid you off.
or that you will end up leaving your home prematurely, not knowing where you are going to go.

so then the news hits home... two words... one question... one prayer:
"Why God?"

out of experience, let me tell you this. when we are in the middle of a situation where our very own circumstances contradicts the character and promises of God, answering the question "Why?" does not help us get out of bed the next morning.

Habakkuk 3:19
the Sovereign Lord is my strength.

so we pray... "God give me strength to face the day... give me the things i will need to conquer the things in my way..."

and this is His response...

2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:18 (Message)
So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.

God is saying that when you look through the lens in your eyes, look into eternity and adjust the aperture so it comes into focus, you will see things the way they were always meant to be seen.

we have to learn to live with eternity into focus.
we need to allow God to redefine our experiences and existence in light of eternity.

we have a thief. he comes to destroy us... attacking our hearts. but God... He spoke with His sovereign Creator authority, and His word created life and spiritual sight, and we saw the glory of Christ in the gospel and believed. satan is an enemy of the gospel. but he is not sovereign. God is. this is the reason that any of us is saved.

heres your challenge: change the two word prayer of "why God?" to "help me."
"help me" may be the greatest prayer you may ever pray.

Lord, get us to the place where we can focus on eternity - declaring the hope that we have in it. Because God, it is Your hope that brings freedom... and hope that delivers... and hope that sets us free - and if our hope is truly in You... then it is hope that we will receive.

For Christ followers, we have a hope that is already known. the end of the play is already finished... we've read the last page of the book. Jesus wins. Suffering is over.

Revelation 21:3-6 (NIV)
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.

did you hear that? it's over!

whatever we are facing has already been won. victory is ours because we are His.

by no means am i saying or implying that suffering and heartache aren't real and valid and living among us today. the economics and the Godlessness around us will drive anybody to tears. and sometimes even tears bring freedom. however, for those of us who believe... our story doesn't end there. our story ends with a beautiful picture of our Lord wiping our tears away. friends, our story ends in victory... and that is something to be happy about.