Why?

I am blameless; I do not know myself; I loathe my life. It is all one; therefore I say, he destroys both the blameless and the wicked. When disaster brings sudden death, he mocks at the calamity of the innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; he covers the eyes of its judges -- if it is not he, who then is it? Job 9: 21-24 NRSV

Job's friends try to convince him that he has sinned. They are sure that if he will just admit his guilt, he will be forgiven and all the suffering will end. But Job has no such guilt; he is entirely innocent. So, he struggles to understand a God who is in control allowing bad things to happen to good people. He sees this as being proof that God somehow enjoys all this suffering and calamity. There is no meaning to this, Job tries to explain.

I like things to make sense. If I am to suffer, then I want a good explanation. I cannot stand it when others say, "It is just God's will." If I am going through trials in life, I tend to see them as ways God is either preparing me for something else or testing to see if I have learned my lessons so far in life. I want a real reason. For suffering or hardships to be a part of God's omnipotent will is not a comfort for me in the least.

I know, however, that there are times when there is no explanation. There will be times in my life that I will be like Job -- hating my life and wanting to speaks directly to God to plead my case. Perhaps you have been there yourself. How did you handle it? What words of wisdom can you share for those who suffer?

God, sometimes we don't understand. We want a reason. We want to know why. Yet, you are silent while our suffering goes on. Help us to wrestle with you with respect and love. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2010 Amelia G. Sims