Stop Asking Why!

I don’t know about you, but I ask God a lot of questions!
The most often asked question is why!

Why did this have to happen?
Why didn’t that happen?
Why are people so mean?
Why is there so much judgment?
Why God?
Why?

I remember years ago asking why all that stuff had to happen to me as a kid. And I remember someone saying to me, that even if I knew the answer it wouldn’t change what happened. They told me it was a pointless question!

I remember it stinging when they said that, but I also remember I found some truth in their answer. Even still, I walked away wondering why!

In my quiet time this week, I was reading about David and all the rejection and hate he faced when Saul was after him. We read in Pslams the laments David cried before the Lord, asking why? David was a man with many (many) questions, and rightly so! Psalm 13 starts with a barrage of questions to God. David is searching for God’s heart as to why!

But then I got to thinking, maybe a better question than why is what!
Now that (fill in the blank) has happened, now what?

Asking why will not change what has happened, but asking “now what?” can change the outcome and mindset of what we are walking through.
I don’t know all the reasons why I am walking through burn out at the moment, but the fact is, I am. It has happened and I am in the midst of it. But looking ahead and asking what now instead of why totally changes things for me. It’s about looking forward and not backward. It’s about focusing on God’s plan instead of wallowing in my own self-pity!

I am powerless to change anything that has already happened, but I can change the way I move forward.
Sometimes God hides mysteries for us to discover (Matt 13:11) but I also believe there are some questions/mysteries that will not be answered this side of Heaven.  I believe He can and will use any circumstances in our lives to bring us closer to Him, and so I draw closer to God in the absence of answers and things don’t make sense!

What I love about David, is that even though he had a lot of questions for God, he still praised Him. Through it all, amongst the questions and the uncertainty, He praised God for who He is. 

This week, and hopefully every week moving forward, I resolve to be like David!