T here are some famous lines that read something like this, when we pray God always answers us. Sometimes his answer is “no,” sometimes it’s “wait,” and sometimes it’s “yes.” But whatever His answer is, it is always the right one for us! Sometimes however, we need more than an “yes” or “no” answer from God – we need an explanation, an intervention from God.
Indeed in an ever-changing world we often lose sight of eternity. As the troubles and turmoil of life take over, it is easy to get tossed and turned in our ever raging storms and lose track of the basics of our faith. When we witness injustice, pain or when we encounter tumultuous hurdles the immediate question that arises in all of us is Why God? Even seasoned travellers in the faith have lost their way because of their questions and doubts.
If you are going through such a season of anxiety, depression or even stress where your faith is tested because of your circumstances, this collection of articles from the well-loved devotional series Our Daily Journey is here to bring God’s message of hope closer to you. The word of God is your compass amidst the raging storms of life. And this truth is what the Psalmist clings to when he says “For I hope in You, O Lord; You will answer, O Lord my God” (Psalm 38:15). Indeed our hope is in Him alone, for He will surely answer.
Read on to understand God’s answers to your most troubling questions.
Our Daily Bread Ministries, India
Sipping tea at a café, I saw two women sit down at different tables. One, young and attractive, was downing a drink topped with a mountain of whipped cream. Shopping bags sat at her feet like obedient pets. The other, about the same age, gripped a walking stick as she moved to her table. Thick plastic braces guarded her ankles. A staff member had to help her manoeuvre into her seat. As I looked at the two women, I wondered, Why does God seem to allow some to suffer much more than others?
A non-Christian organization has established a hotline for people who are struggling with spiritual doubts. While the exact goal of this call-in center seems a bit fuzzy, its founder made an interesting observation: “Many people feel isolated or rejected when they begin to ask questions. …If churches suddenly started welcoming doubters [for food and fellowship], the hotline project wouldn’t be necessary.”
A man dealing with despair confessed to a Bible teacher, “My life is really in bad shape.” “How bad?” asked the teacher. Burying his head in his hands, the man moaned, “I’ll tell you how bad—I’ve got nothing left but God.” The man thought that life had dealt him a bad hand. He didn’t understand that “but God” is an frequently repeated comforting expression found in the Bible.
A wise man once said, “Conflict is never about what’s happening on the surface—there’s always much more at stake.” Chances are that Job would have agreed with that statement. He found himself thrust suddenly and forcefully into heartbreak of catastrophic proportions. His livestock, fields, servants and children were all destroyed in one day.
Ever wondered about this line from “Amazing Grace”? “’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed.” Grace teaches my heart to fear? What’s so scary about grace? David found the answers to these questions when he brought the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem. It was a festive, noisy celebration, the kind that can fog a man’s mind (2 Samuel 6:5).
Following a long season of loss, hardship, transition and illness, my heart and mind were in a fragile place. Though my assurance that Jesus Christ is “our great God and Saviour” (Titus 2:13) remained intact, I had many questions about what it meant to fully trust Him in the day to-day aspects of life. In the midst of this precarious state, I received significant strength and encouragement when church elders prayed over me.
“Fear is not a Christian habit of mind,” the novelist Marilynne Robinson has remarked. Yet fear is one of the most powerful and consistent forces in human behaviour. Even outward obedience can be driven more by fear than love. What does it even mean, we might wonder, to live without being motivated by fear?
