Why, Lord?
We may all ask this question at some stage when challenges and grief come knocking at our door. We don’t understand the purpose of the challenge and don’t appreciate the intensity of it. So, we look to heaven and ask, ‘Why, Lord?’. The parents of the blind man described in John chapter 9 would most likely have asked the same question. Parents are filled with joy when they receive their newborn baby. But this joy may have quickly turned into painful questions for the parents when they saw the baby was blind. These sad questions did not stop with the parents; family, friends, and strangers would ask the same question. Why was he born blind? Why is life so unfair to him? Even Jesus’ disciples asked these questions.
John 9:1-3, ESV Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him”.
As we see in the passage above, ‘What went wrong, Lord?’ is the question we tend to ask when faced with difficulty or seeing others experiencing challenges. It’s our default question. Now, there are times when we face difficulty because the Lord is chastising us for disobeying Him (Hebrews 12:7). But as we can see in the story of the blind man, sometimes we face difficulty because it is part of God’s plan to receive glory out of that circumstance.
As we read in chapter 9 of John, we see Jesus heal the blind man, and this blind man ends up testifying about Jesus in front of the Pharisees. The words of the great hymn ‘Amazing Grace’, which reads ‘I was blind, but now I see’ are taken directly from this man’s words in John 9:25b ‘though I was blind, now I see’, and till this day we sing these man’s words. We don’t know how old this man was, but we know his parents said, ‘He is of age’. Imagine, he lived his whole life up until this point blind. The question is ‘why’? Jesus responded, ‘that the works of God should be revealed in him.’
Christians today have so many promises in the Word to hold on to. When you go through difficulty, let your focus be God’s glory. For example, when the trial you go through prunes you and makes you more Christ-like, God is glorified. God is glorified when you learn to trust Him more during difficulty. This is what separates us from the world—we know that according to Romans 8:28 – all things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His good purpose. This is such a popular verse, but be mindful of becoming so familiar with it that you lose the understanding behind it!
Like David, we can speak the words of Psalm 23 when we walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. The whole essence of this Psalm is that God is with us; He takes care of us during the trial. This knowledge should influence our attitude when faced with difficulty and obstacles- God must be glorified in your life. Besides, it’s the goal of humanity, right? God must be glorified- now and forever. This is why we were created—for His glory.
Isaiah 43:7, ESV everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.
We often don’t understand how He is getting any glory from difficult situations we face. How does God get the glory when you are diagnosed with a debilitating illness? How does God get the glory when a loved one passes away? How does God get the glory when you face financial struggles due to an economic downturn and you don’t know how you will pay your bills? But this is where faith steps in. Without faith, how can you believe God can be glorified even in life’s most painful moments? If we had the perfect answers to this, why is faith needed? When a parent loses their toddler to cancer, what perfect answer could anyone give them? But we have faith that God is good, even in difficulty, and He will be glorified – hold on to Him.
Hebrews 11:1, ESV Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
When faced with situations that force us into asking ‘Why, Lord?’ it’s vital to ask from a place of humility. A place where you genuinely want to understand—but even if you never understand on this side of life, believe that God knows, sees your pain, and is your Comforter. This is why He is referred to as the ‘God of all comfort‘, and we can comfort others with the same comfort when they pass through similar trials.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4, ESV 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
The blind man was able to see at the end of the day. His blindness allowed him to experience God’s healing power. Not only did he receive physical healing, but he also openly testified in front of the Pharisees that Jesus was who He said He was! Our life on earth is not all we have. There is an eternity ahead of each of us. Understanding this can help you refocus when you are faced with difficulty. I pray that God helps our faith when we can’t help but ask, ‘Why, Lord?’.
