The longer we live, the more the question of "why" "Why did this happen if God loves me?" "Why wouldn't God let me get this when I and He both know it would be good for me?"

But have you ever stopped to ask why you ask why? The very question "why" assumes that we are expecting only good things to happen to us. And so, when something that doesn't seem good happens to us, we ask the question why. We rarely ask the question "why" when something good happens to us. In 20 years of being a pastor, I never had to counsel anyone who was agonizing over why God was so good to him!

But if we truly knew our spiritual condition, we should be asking far more whys as to why God is so good to us. For our sins and wickedness, the default dealing of God toward us should be that of punishment and plague. So that if something good ever happened, we should ask why because it's not what we deserved. But the reality is that we assume we deserve only good things. That further indicts us and shows our wickedness.

But there are times when we could legitimately ask the question why. Like the psalmist here:
"Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself!
Do not reject us forever! Why do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our affliction and oppression"
Ps. 44:22-23

What was God's answer to this? His answer was His Son, Jesus Christ. And He was not merely an example to follow but a substitute. He died in our place....

To our question of "why," God's answer is His Son.

Why the cancer? Jesus Christ.
Why the death? Jesus Christ.
Why the loss? Jesus Christ.
Why the failure? Jesus Christ.
Why the rejection? Jesus Christ.

I don't mean of course that Jesus is the cause of all those things. But He is the solution.

Look to Him. One way you know you truly looked is when you become keenly aware of your ugly, sinful self...

PH