As today starts it is interesting to consider how some people answer questions with a question like “Why?”. From an etiquette perspective, we shouldn’t answer questions with a question. Let’s be the dads who aren’t being evasive and uncooperative when conversing. Are you asking “why?” because you are facing suffering or a tragedy? Do you ask “why?” when you see injustice? Consider the question and how or where it gets used as get started today.
Biblical Perspective on Asking “Why?”
1. Suffering and Tragedy
Scripture:
- Job 1:21: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
- Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Key Takeaway: Suffering is part of the human experience, but God can use it for a greater good.
Application: Trust in God’s plan even in suffering. Look for ways God might use difficult circumstances to grow your faith or help others.
2. Injustice
Scripture:
- Proverbs 21:15: “When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.”
- Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Key Takeaway: God values justice and requires His followers to pursue it.
Application: Work for justice in your community and trust that God will ultimately right all wrongs.
3. Purpose and Meaning
Scripture:
- Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
- Ephesians 2:10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Key Takeaway: God has a specific plan and purpose for each person’s life.
Application: Seek God’s guidance in prayer and scripture to discover and fulfill your purpose.
4. Unanswered Prayers
Scripture:
- James 4:3: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
- 1 John 5:14: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”
Key Takeaway: Not all prayers are answered the way we expect, often because of our motives or God’s greater plan.
Application: Align your prayers with God’s will and trust His timing and wisdom.
5. Natural Disasters
Scripture:
- Psalm 46:1-3: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.”
- Romans 8:22: “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”
Key Takeaway: Natural disasters are part of a fallen world, but God is our refuge.
Application: Seek safety and solace in God during natural disasters, and help those affected.
6. Death and Mortality
Scripture:
- John 11:25-26: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.'”
- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14: “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.”
Key Takeaway: In Christ, death is not the end but a transition to eternal life.
Application: Live with the hope of eternal life, and comfort those who mourn with the promise of resurrection.
7. Failure and Disappointment
Scripture:
- Psalm 37:23-24: “The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.”
- Philippians 4:13: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
Key Takeaway: God supports us in our failures and provides strength to overcome.
Application: Lean on God for strength and perseverance in the face of failure.
8. Miracles and Blessings
Scripture:
- James 1:17: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
- Psalm 103:2: “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”
Key Takeaway: All good things come from God, and we should acknowledge and thank Him for them.
Application: Cultivate a habit of gratitude and acknowledge God’s hand in the blessings you receive.
Today’s Devotional:
This year, I am utilizing the 365 Daily Devotions book I received for Christmas, applying its teachings specifically in the context of fatherhood. It’s called WALKING WITH GOD by DAVID JEREMIAH. It’s exciting to learn from a new resource this year as we have tried different options the past two years and will keep working through this for 2024. For more information about the author and his ministry, visit DavidJeremiah.org.
Topic: WHY?
Verse: Romans 8:28
'And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. '
Do you ever question “Why?”
Today’s Devotional begins with how “every Christian eventually has an experience that seems totally inconsistent in the life of a child of a loving God.” Have you ever had one of those experiences in your “health, finances, relationships, career, property, or family” where you start to question and ask “why?” or even give it up to God and ask “Why, Lord?”
Do you ever bring your “Why?” questions to God
Today’s Devotional shares how that question is “acceptable to God”. It says: “He is not angered by our desire for answers.” Let’s be the dads who want to understand the experiences we are having and are willing to go to God for answers. As with Job, we may find that we need to trust God beyond our understanding because we don’t see the full picture, and as such our assumptions may be flawed.
Today’s Devotional speaks to how sometimes we may not know “why?” but just like Job, we can receive something better, “the realization that God is so big and so wise that whatever He chooses to do will work out best in the end.” Paul summarizes this in today’s verse when it tells us “All things work together for good to those who love God.” so today let’s be the dads who love God and are pursuing His plans, purposes, and calling upon our lives to live up to being the dads He, our wives, our kids, and our world need us to be.
Today’s Devotional challenges us to bring our questions to God, encouraging us to instead “seek the Answerer Himself.”
“I may not have the answers, but I do have Him.”
DAVE DRAVECKY
