Tell me the why
I’ve written a few articles for Medium, an online publishing platform. Those articles focused on business and management but their underpinning is God’s Word. For example, one article I wrote is titled, “Tell Me The Bad News, Please.” It’s about finding the value in bad news.
I wasn’t happy with the first couple of articles I wrote for Medium. Well, actually, the first article I wrote, It’s Time to Sell California, continues to resonate with readers. Anyway, knowing I need some help with my writing, I went to Fiverr.com and hired an editor to read one of my articles. I was blessed by finding Jessi_a, a proofreader and editor.
Jessi_a critiqued my article. She provided valuable feedback, but none more so than this: “I’d go one sentence further explaining this concept. You’re almost there, but you stop before the why.” She was right. And I went back and reviewed a few other things I’d written and found this was a weakness in my writing. Her modest fee was worth it all for providing this insight.
God rarely says why
If I think back to elementary school, my teachers taught me in my English lessons that explanations should include the who, what, when, where, and why. At some point, probably by the end of fourth grade, the “why” fell off that list. (This might be the cause of the occasional marital misunderstandings during the last few decades. 😟 )
When it comes to our relationship with God and His Word, there are very few times that God tells us why. He’s God. He doesn’t have to explain the reasons why He does what He does. And if He did tell us, we couldn’t understand it because, well, He thinks like God.
Sometimes God does say why
Here are a handful of examples of God telling us why:
- Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. – 1 Corinthians 6:18
- And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. – Matthew 13:58
- So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. – Hebrews 3:19
Processing faith
The difference between the need to know God’s why and the resting in God’s what is like the difference between a person’s profession of faith and a person’s possession of faith. God’s why doesn’t change anything just as a person professing faith in Jesus; nothing changes. But when we accept God’s what and even rest in it, we discover peace and His comfort. Likewise, when we possess faith in Jesus as our Savior, we find rest, peace, and comfort.
The “why” is important for person to person communications and seems to carry some measure of import in a marriage.😉 As followers of Jesus, we don’t need to know God’s why, but sometimes He tells us:
- Who – Jesus – Acts 4:12
- What – Salvation by grace through faith – Ephesians 2:8-9
- When – Now is the time, while it’s still called “Today” – 2 Corinthians 6:2
- Where – Right where you’re at – Acts 8:26-40
- Why – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16
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