Why, Lord, Why?

Dennis Edwards

I recently went on a trip to the States to visit my family who I hadn't seen in quiet a few years. While there, I attended a local Lutheran Church not far from where I was staying. During my visit, the shooting in Las Vegas took place. The following Sunday, during the church service there was a moment for the members of the congregation to pray out loud, if they desired, for any need or concern. It was at this point in the service that the retired Pastor of the church cried out, "Why, Lord, why?" He was praying in regards to the recent shooting in Nevada, but he also mentioned the killing of Christians in the Middle East. He was questioning the Lord, why He was letting these things come to pass.

At any given time in our lives, when troubles besiege us, we can come to the same point of faith, or lack of faith. We can question why the Lord is allowing something, that we perceive as bad at that moment, to happen to us, or some other innocent party. Aren't we His children? Aren't we promised protection in His Word? Would a just God allow us to suffer unjustly? The retired Pastor was voicing his doubt, his fear, his questioning. We often have the sames fears and questions.

So, how are we as Christians suppose to react when some horror befalls us, or befall innocent Christian people, or any innocent people? What should we do? How should we react? I think the best place to look is in God's Word and see what it says there. Can we glean some tips and lessons from the writing of the Apostles, the Prophets, or from Jesus' own words? Let's take a look and see what we find.

I think the first place to look is to Jesus' own statements. In the Gospel of John we find Jesus giving a lengthy talk to his disciples on the even of His passion. At one point he says,

"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they have kept my sayings, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not Him that sent me."[1]

A little further on he adds,

"These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time comes, that whosoever kills you will think that he does God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.[2] ...These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."[3]

Jesus very definitely charged his disciples to be prepared for hate crimes, persecution, and defamation. Just as he was to be innocently charged and killed for crimes he did not commit, so his true followers were to expect problems because the world would not receive their message and thus persecute them, the message bearers. Jesus was therefore preparing his disciple for the trials that they would face in the future, so they could confront the ungodly circumstances with faith and not fear, knowing that it was within God's will for them to suffer unjustly, just as Jesus would do.

In Jesus' famous discourse on the End Times and the period of the Great Tribulation, the horrendous event that precedes his coming, he warns his disciples,

"Then they shall deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake."[4] "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."[5]

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus had also spoken of persecution when he said,

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."[6]

So Jesus is encouraging his disciples of the future to endure, knowing that He himself suffered the same injustice, knowing that He himself had predicted these events would take place, knowing that others before them had suffered unjustly. His disciples should therefore not lose faith, but face the situation with praise and rejoicing. 

In the old movie Quo Vadis, meaning "Where do we flee?", the Christians, clinging to Jesus' words, end up singing in the face of death by hungry lions. See the following short link.

The Apostle Paul tells us repeatedly in his epistles that persecution and tribulation are to be expected by those who follow Christ closely. He writes,

"Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."[7]

Also, in the book of Acts we read where Paul is beaten and imprisoned without trial, contrary to Roman law. He and Silas are cast into the inner prison with their feet made fast in stocks. We read,

"And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's hands were loosed."[8]

Paul, even in dire circumstances, prayed and sang praises. In that case, God delivered him. But at the end of his life, he would die by beheading, gaining a greater reward for keeping his faith amidst unjust persecution. We read in the book of Hebrews,

"And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance: that they might obtain a better resurrection."[9]

But you say, "I don't have that kind of faith. I'll probably deny my faith. I'm afraid of persecution." Back in the 1940s Corrie Ten Boom from Holland thought the same thing. She was sure she wouldn't have faith in the face of Nazi persecution. She and her family were hiding and helping to transport Jews out of the country. They were helping the Dutch underground in their fight against the Nazi perpetrators. Corrie was sure she would deny her faith if caught. She was frightened by the atrocities she had heard about.

Finally, one evening she confessed her plight to her dearly beloved father. His answer was the same she later shared with others. He said, "Corrie, when do I give you the money to buy the ticket for the train? Do I give it to you a year, or a month or a week ahead of time?" Corrie responded, "No, Papa, you don't give it to me until we are in the train station, at the moment I need it." Papa returned, "Ah, and so our dear Lord won't give you the faith for persecution ahead of time, but be sure He will not fail you and will give it to you when you need it, not before."

And so it was. Later, Corrie's family would be arrested and imprisoned for their illegal activities. Both her father and older sister would die in German concentration camps. Was Corrie's faith weaken? Yes, it was. But God brought to her bed in the concentration camp other prisoners who wanted her to share with them from the words of the New Testament her sister had been reading to them. Corrie was forced by the needs of these poor women to read to them from the New Testament. Miraculously her own weakened faith was strengthen and she became strong. 

A short time later, she was wrongfully released and returned to Holland where she began a ministry encouraging those who had passed through Nazi brutality. She ended up traveling the world testifying of her experiences and the importance of forgiveness. She wrote, "Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the doors of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred." She also said "There is no pit so deep, that God's love is not deeper still."

So in face of these tragedies we are seeing almost daily, take faith.  God has not abandoned us. If anything, it is we who have abandoned Him and have made ourselves unworthy of His blessings. Jesus predicted these perilous times would come and mankind would reap what they had sowed. But even so in His word He says, "All things work together for good to them who love God."[10] God can even work the tragic events we are seeing happening before our eyes daily for good, if we will call unto Him, if we will come unto to Him with all our heart, mind, body and strength. He's calling us continually to abandon our way and choose His. Do you hear His call? Will you answer?

Notes:

[1] John 15:19-21
[2] John 16:2-3
[3] John 16:33
[4] Matthew 24:9
[5] Matthew 24:13
[6] Matthew 5:10-12
[7] 2 Timothy 3:11-12
[8] Acts 16:25-26
[9] Hebrews 11:35b
[10] Romans 8:28