The Question of “Why”

Job 38: 1-11; Mark 4: 35-41 

Rev. Patrick Streeter

My final summer of Camp Ministry was 2012. During the second week of camp, one of our 12 year old campers, named Will, collapsed during the morning assembly. He was unconscious and immediately rushed to the hospital where the surgeons worked to save his life. Will had suffered a spontaneous brain hemorrhage; an event that occurs in less than .001% of the population. The surgeons saved his life, but Will’s brain suffered traumatic injuries during the event. Following the life-saving surgery, Will spent 3 weeks in a coma and 2 months in the hospital. He was eventually released from the hospital after learning that he would have to rehabilitate his brain and body to perform nearly everything from walking to talking. Will could have died at camp. Just a few days before that day, we were on a campout. If Will had gone to sleep and this had happened, he would have died. If he would have collapsed during the campout, the likelihood that we would have been able to get him medical help in time was slim to none. Will would have died. Why? Why God would you allow this to happen to Will? Why would you put Will and his family through this? Will and has family have been good and faithful servants to you. What have they done to deserve this?

Will and his family faced a question that most of us will face at some point in our lives. The question of “Why”. Maybe it is a death or illness that hits close to home in our own lives or in the lives of the ones that we love and care for. Maybe it’s seeing the events on the news that make us ask Why. We ask; Why did God allow this? Did God allow this? If God is all good and all loving, then why would God allow such evil in the world? We ask these questions and we expect answers that are already wrapped up in a neat little bow. You may have asked those questions and heard answers such as, “It is all part of God’s plan. Trust that God knows what God is doing.” How can pain and suffering be really part of God’s plan? How can good come from that? Or maybe you have heard the answer, “Well, it is all because of free will. God allows free will, so there is evil and suffering in this world.” Try using that answer to a set of parents whose child has been born with a mental disability. It doesn’t work and it certainly doesn’t provide comfort. 

So, what’s the answer to the Why Question? What is the answer to the problem of suffering? I must be honest and up front. I don’t have the answer. And I would question anyone who says they do have the answer. I don’t think, in this life, that we will ever fully understand the Question of Why. We will never fully understand the problem of suffering. We are not privy to that information and that is the way God designed it. Do you remember in the beginning what God gave Adam and Eve? He gave them everything, but he had one request of them. That they not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Unlike God, our knowledge and wisdom are finite. We are simply not equipped to make accurate and loving judgments about good and evil. That is the way that God designed Adam and Eve and us today. We cannot fully understand good and evil and we must first come to terms with that before we can begin to understand the question of Why. 

Our understanding of good vs. evil is limited and this passage in Job reminds us of this. Do you remember the story of Job? Job was God’s good and faithful servant. God allowed Satan to test Job faithfulness to his God. This passage is where God begins to ask Job several questions about creation and good vs. evil. Job is unable to answer them. In the end, Job is satisfied with God’s response and receives everything back doubly. The point is that we can never fully understand. We can only be faithful. Maybe the heart of Job told him to trust God even when his mind could not understand the mystery of suffering. With Job, the Israelites began to see suffering of innocent people not as a punishment but as a mystery. 

Even though we cannot fully understand the problem of suffering, I do believe that there is a framework that we can develop as we begin to address the question of Why. That framework must begin with our image of God. Not only how do we view God, but how we view God in the midst of pain and suffering.

So, if we must begin with our image of God, then where do we find that image? The obvious answer would be scripture, but where do we find the image of God through scripture? The most direct image of God that we can find through scripture is found in Jesus. Jesus is our most direct, most accurate image of God. Do you remember the beginning of the Gospel of John? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him and without him not one thing came into being. And the Word became flesh and lived among us.” Him being Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our image of God. If we want to know how God thinks, feels, and reacts then we must look to Christ. Christ is our God in the flesh. 

Our image of God is revealed though Jesus Christ. When we see him, we see the very heart of God. Do you remember in the Gospel of John when someone asked Jesus to show him God the Father, Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” Jesus was saying I am your picture of God. Jesus spent his ministry freeing people from evil and misery. That is what God seeks to do. What is your picture of God? What is your image of God in the midst of suffering? Your image of God in the midst of suffering may limit how you are able to view the full power of God. 

The hymn, It Is Well With My Soul, was written by Horatio Spafford. The hymn was written after several traumatic events in Spafford’s life. The first was the death of their only son who died from Scarlet Fever in 1870. In 1871 the Great Chicago Fire ruined him financially when one of his major investments burned to the ground. In 1873 the economic downturn continued to hurt him. His family had planned a trip to Europe and he had sent his family ahead because he was delayed with a business matter. While his family was crossing the Atlantic, their ship struck another vessel and sank and all four of his daughters died. His wife survived and sent word to him. As he was traveling to meet his grieving wife, he wrote the words to It is Well With My Soul. 

Spafford got it. Despite the circumstances he was in, he recognized that Jesus was in his boat and he felt the calming presence that only Christ could provide. It is well with my soul, he wrote.  No matter what comes my way, I have Christ with me. When we need Christ the most in our lives, no matter how distant he may seem, he is right there, standing with us, feeling our hurts, our pains and ready to carry the weight on his shoulders. Spafford’s prayer articulated his image of God and how that allowed him to understand his present suffering.  Our image of God can pour into our prayer life. How we pray, what we pray and when we pray can make all the difference in the midst of suffering. 

Do you remember the movie, Bruce Almighty. Jim Carey plays this career pursuing man who complains to God a lot. He misses the wonder and mystery of God. God, played by Morgan Freeman, decides to work through Bruce’s life. He does so by giving Bruce God’s powers. There is a scene you may remember where Bruce sits down one night to answer the prayers of the people. He turns on his computer where he is able to answer them in an email format. At first, he goes through them one at a time but soon becomes tired of the enormous amounts of prayers. After a few evenings of frustration he decides to select all and answer yes to everyone’s prayer. Havoc ensues and Bruce learns about the personal attention needed for each prayer and it’s consequences for each response. 

Does God always answer prayer? This seems like an important question as we continue to understand the framework of the Question of Why. How we pray, when we pray, and what we pray can indicate the answer to this question. The power and art of prayer is another sermon for another day, but there are a few thoughts that we should consider. Praying for healing, praying for a good outcome, praying for good news is a good thing. It is good because God knows what is in our hearts and wants us to voice that to God. Prayer is dependent upon the condition of our heart. We must first pray with honesty and them we must listen with an open heart and open mind. God always answers prayer, but in God’s own time, and in God’s own fashion. And we must consider that may not the answer we expect or want. Sometimes the answer may be no. That’s tough but sometimes the answer is no. Regardless of answer, God is ever-present, with us.  

God works despite the circumstances, in the midst of suffering. God is ever present; doing everything God can to draw closer to us. God continues to work to for good regardless of the circumstance. Remember the circumstances that Mark described in our Gospel reading? Jesus and his disciples were on a boat in the middle of night when a storm came upon them. Storms on the Sea of Galilee were a common occurrence. This was a bad storm and storms were a fisherman’s worst nightmare. Can you imagine being in the middle of the Sea in the dark and a storm comes upon you? Scary stuff I would imagine. Jesus was in the boat with them, asleep when the storm came upon them. Jesus was present with them. Scared and afraid they disciples awoke Jesus saying, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” How many times have we cried out the same plea? We are in the midst of suffering or the suffering and we cry out Lord, where are you? Do you not care about my suffering? Just as Jesus responds to the disciples, he also responds to us in our crisis of suffering, “Peace, be still.” In this story, we know that Jesus utters this command and the storm ceases, but I think this command is not only meant for the storms in our life, but more directly for us. When we suffer and cry out for respite from that suffering, the storm doesn’t always die down. But God always responds, and his response is one of Peace, be still. That command is meant for us. Be still and trust in me. I am here, I am present in the midst of suffering and I will give you peace to strengthen you as you endure whatever suffering may come your way. 

God is working for good in our life, despite the evil and suffering that too often creeps into our lives. God doesn’t give up. God continues to work. The story of the young man named Will is not finished. The WillPower5K was created by Will in 2013 to celebrate his recovery and help him fund his long-term rehabilitation. Now, that Will is much better, the race raises research money and awareness for HHT- the genetic condition that led Will’s brain to bleed. The first race in 2013 attracted over 1,000 runners and in 2014 the number grew to 1,200.  God has done wondrous things amidst suffering. God continued to work for good through the suffering. We must trust and move past the question of Why because God is working and eagerly wants to share that work with us. 

Beyond the Question of Why is the beauty and mystery of God’s work. Beyond the Question of Why is grace outpoured and abundant mercy. When we suffer and struggle with the Question of Why, Christ is there, with us, sharing the weight of our emotions. He is there saying, Peace, Be still! I am here and I am with you. Trust me and allow me to work through this. Regardless of the circumstances, I am greater and have come to overcome. Even on your darkest day, I am working for good because I love you. You are loved my child. May we move beyond the Question of Why. May we come to know that we love and serve a God who continues to work through our circumstances. May we listen to the voice of Christ saying, Peace, be still. May that be enough. Amen.