by Dr. Bob Gray Sr.
Matthew 27:46, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
A lady came to counsel with me and told me, with tears in her eyes, “My husband and I have been married for one year, and now he has been told he has just six months to live. Why?”
After I had preached in a distant city, a pastor came to me and told me that his son had been killed in an automobile accident. The pastor said he had not been able to overcome the tragedy, and he asked, “Why?”
Another pastor, a godly man, told me he had just been fired from his church, and he asked, “Dr. Gray, why?”
A few years ago, my son, Scott, and his wife, Jenny, went to the hospital so she could give birth to their new baby. They had been to the doctor a few days before, and everything had been fine. However, when they arrived at the hospital, the doctor could find no heartbeat. Jennifer gave birth to a beautiful, stillborn daughter, a granddaughter I will never meet until we are in Heaven. I found myself asking, “Why?”
I can understand our asking “Why?” but I cannot see Jesus asking “Why?” Yet, on Calvary He cried, “My God, my God, why?”
It seems to me that when I ask “Why?” my doubt is unveiled, but this cannot be true if Jesus asked “Why?” This was Deity talking to Deity, God Incarnate talking to the Creator of the universe. This was God the Son talking to God the Father. Even Jesus looked up and asked, “My God, my God, why?”
It is amazing that even Jesus asked “Why?” Did Jesus doubt His Heavenly Father? Did God the Son doubt God the Father? Was there a breach, a paradox?
THE QUESTION “WHY” TELLS US THERE IS AN ANSWER
Stop and think about it. The very fact that I asked my God “Why?” implies that I know there is One who has the answer. I would not ask if I did not think there was an answer. This does not indicate doubt; it actually indicates faith. When you ask why, you imply you have confidence that there is Someone who knows the answer. Jesus did not doubt; He was simply saying there is Someone who has the answer.
Jesus tells the lonely widow there is Someone who has the answer. He tells the abandoned husband there is Someone who has the answer. He tells the sick there is Someone who has the answer. He tells the cancer patient there is Someone who has the answer. He tells the child who is mourning the loss of a parent that Someone has the answer. He tells the broken-hearted pastor, whose staff has turned on him, that Someone has the answer. He tells the jobless husband, Someone has the answer. He tells the single mother, Someone has the answer. He tells the child abandoned by his father that Someone has the answer.
When you ask why, you are implying Someone has the answer. You would not ask unless you thought someone had the answer.
There is a God in Heaven Who loves you. If you are stricken with illness, God in Heaven loves you. If you come from a broken home, God in Heaven loves you. If you have lost your job, God in Heaven loves you. He knows the answer, and He allows us to ask “Why?”
We were broken-hearted as I performed the funeral for our stillborn granddaughter. Scott and Jenny had bought the bassinet, the clothing, the little socks, the blankets, and then the baby was gone. It is hard to imagine the grief until you have felt the same pain. I felt guilty about asking why, until I read this verse. When I realized even Jesus looked up to Heaven and asked, “My God, my God, why?” I did not feel so guilty. I realized that, instead of living in the land of doubt, I was really living in the land of faith, because I realized I had a Heavenly Father Who has the answer.
No matter what you are facing, it is alright for you to ask why. It is alright for you to cry, “My God, my God, why?” Do not feel guilty for asking. You are just saying that Someone has the answer, and you are asking Him. You are not going to your friends, you are not going to your spouse; you are going to God Almighty and asking “Why?”
You may never know the answer. Our minds cannot comprehend the effects of the things that happen in our lives. Even if God were to tell me the answer, I do not speak the heavenly language, and I would not understand His reasons. I can trust that God knows the reason and it is alright to ask why. We do not need to know the answer; we just need to know there is an answer. As long as I know there is a reason, I can keep on going.
THE QUESTION “WHY” TELLS US WE DO NOT HAVE THE ANSWER
When I ask why, I am saying I do not have the answer, and I need God. I need to wake up every morning and read my Bible. I need to be faithful to church. I need to win souls. There is no reason for me to quit.
THE QUESTION “WHY” SAYS THE GOD, WHO HAS THE ANSWER, WANTS MY PRESENCE
God allows things to happen in my life because He wants my presence. When He took our granddaughter from us and put her in Heaven, He drew us toward Heaven. He did not drive us away. When we have gone through other difficult times in our lives, those times have drawn us closer to God.
When God takes something from us, He wants to bring us closer to Him. When Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why?”, He was being drawn to the Father Who had the answer. He was drawn to the One He needed. When God allows a tragedy in our lives, He is simply trying to bring us closer to Him.
Do not feel guilty for asking why. Just make sure you ask the One who has the answer. Ask with confidence because God has the answer. Hold your head up high because even Jesus asked “Why?”
GOTTA LOVE SERVING A GREAT GOD!