The Neverending Question or the Neverending Answer?

Curiosity, as they say, kills the cat. However, I would say that little kills the patience of a parent quicker than the question "why?"

Obviously, I am not a parent. However, I have a younger brother who is eleven years younger than I am. I remember very well, in fact I was a know it all high schooler when my brother was in his inquisitive phase. I would take it upon myself to answer all of his questions. I was in high school. Surely I could out-smart this little 5 year old. Surely I could impress his young mind with a volume of knowledge he had just accumulated in 3 minutes and satisfy him. Surely his mind really didn't care that much, he just wanted somebody to answer him.

Surely...

So now I know that when I become a parent, I will NOT be doing that. I will not provide endless answers to the endless questions, at least not with continual reasons. The answer to a why question only prompts more questions, usually another why. While inquisitive minds should be rewarded and answers must be given, they should be the right answers to the right questions. Sometimes, you just don't need to know why. Sometimes there is a far better question that can be asked and a far more satisfying answer to be given.

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion, " says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." Lamentations 3:21-23.

This is a familiar verse, often sung and quoted in prayers. How often do you remember the reference though? This passage is in Jeremiah's lament over the fall of Judah, the exile of his people, the judgment of God upon the nations. Listen to what he says as he laments to the Lord.

"I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long. He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation' he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago..." Lamentations 3:1-6

Here is a man at an end of himself. He has nothing left. No home, no family, no health, no wealth, no security. All he has is pain, physical, emotional and spiritual. And yet he never asks God why. In fact, there is only one time the word "why" appears in the entire chapter.

"Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?" Lamentations 3:37-39

This man has plenty of reason to question. He has plenty of reason to wonder at the character of God. All he needs to do is look around and see God's wrath and anger. This man has nothing...

except a memory of who God is,

and this memory give him hope.

The moment we give ourselves to asking why, we are asking God to open the windows of eternity and to show us his plan that spans throughout millenia, countless ages past, present and future. We give ourselves to circumstance, to change, to the ebb and flow of time itself. When we ask "who?", God gives us his word and tells us who he is. We can rest in his unchanging and proven nature, the assurance of his promise and the faithfulness of his provision. "The Lord is my portion" says this broken and suffering man crying out to God.

The answer to the who question is far more satisfying and life giving than the answer to the why question, as Mark Vroegop, lead pastor of College Park Church said in his sermon "The Reverence and Relevance of Job." We need to learn how to ask it. All we really want to know is "Is everything ok?" "Am I going to be all right?" "What am I to do?" We really just want assurance, confidence and purpose. We think that the answer to "why" will give us the security that we desire. God knows better. He simply gives us himself. We get assurance because we know he is faithful. We get confidence because we know he is powerful and we get purpose because we see he is wonderful and all we can do is glorify him.

"Therefore, I will hope in him."