#6 in Proverbs / Finding Meaning in "Why, God?" Moments
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· 2 viewsThe core of the gospel is justification by faith. Take that away, and there is no good news.
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9 The light of the righteous shines brightly,
but the lamp of the wicked is put out.
Introduction
Introduction
If you fail to study and then wonder why the test is so hard, that’s on you. Studying before taking the test is ideal. There’s an exam question we’re all going to have to answer at some point: “Why, God?” Some examples from my own life...
“Why do we have to move away from my friends?”
“Why doesn’t that girl like me?”
“Why don’t these church folks like me?”
Probably my first “Why, God?” moment came when I was 3 years and one month old. I was far too young to understand the realities of cancer, but I knew after Granny, my mother’s mother, died that we would never see her again. And that was too much for my little brain to wrap around. In what must be one of my earliest memories, I remember sobbing and asking my mother, “Why did Granny have to die?” The only response she could offer is, “I don’t know, son.” Of course, it didn’t dawn on me at the time that my mother, who was only 28, would never see her own mother again.
We all have “Why, God?” moments? My father experienced one in 1982 when cancer claimed another victim, this time his baby sister.
As I’ve gotten to know you over the last 2.5 years, I’ve heard many of your “Why, God?” stories. If this life is a test, “Why, God?” is guaranteed to be on the final exam. The reason I’m preaching this sermon today is to help you study for this question.
BLUF: No matter how dark your “Why, God?” moment, you will experience life and joy at the end. No matter how bleak things look, the righteous will experience life and joy.
Two primary Scriptures from Proverbs I want to look at.
"No disaster overcomes the righteous, but the wicked are full of misery” (Prov 12:21).
The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is put out (Prov 13:9)
You will experience misery momentarily.
You will experience misery momentarily.
Aligns with common sense. We see misery all around us.
Explained by the Fall / Curse.
Demonstrated in the Proverbs.
“No disaster overcomes the righteous.” You will experience disaster, but it won’t overcome you.
Prov 24:16, “The righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.” Calamity comes upon both the righteous and the wicked, but only the righteous keep getting up.
This misery can be at any time during this life.
Your “Why, God?” moment could come at the BEGINNING: Christian Buchanan, born on Feb 18, 2011 with Tessier Cleft Lip and Palate, a very rare birth defect described as having a face that wasn’t finished being knit together. The most serious result is he was born without eyes. His parents “mourned the life their son would never have. But, over time, they stopped focusing on what he would never do, and looked instead at how they could make his life better.” Through the Eyes of Hope, book released in 2017.
Your “Why, God?” moment could come in the MIDDLE of life. Joni Eareckson Tada was a life-loving 17 year old girl in 1967 when she went swimming with friends. Neither she nor her friends realized how shallow the waters in the lake were, and she dove in head first. She was immediately paralyzed from the neck down. In the days after her calamity, she experienced discouragement, depression, and suicidal despair, even begging many of her friends to assist in her suicide attempt.
Your “Why, God?” moment could come at the END. Natalie’s grandmother died several months ago. She was a godly woman, faithful wife, and devoted mother and grandmother. She served God in her local church through the “Threads of Love” ministry that made blankets for people that needed them. Towards the end of her life she became less and less mobile, and had to live with family. She lost independence. She couldn’t serve others any longer, and she coulnd’t care for herself. She felt like a burden. She asked me on more than one occasion, “Why is God letting this happen to me?”
Whether it’s at the beginning, middle, or end of life, “Why, God” moments all feel the same. It seems like God doesn’t care.
Transition: But God wants you to know something. He wants you to know that there is an answer to this question on life’s test.
You will receive life and joy eternally.
You will receive life and joy eternally.
When? At the end. Prov 14:32, “The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing, but the righteous finds refuge in his death.”
Death, for the Christian, is a sweet release from the trials, tribulations, and misery of this life.
I mentioned Joni Eareckson Tada earlier. Years after her paralysis she was married. She reflected on her wedding day: “On the morning of my wedding, my helpers laid me on a couch in the church’s bridal salon to dress me in my gown. They heaved and shifted my paralyzed body this way and that, trying to fit me into it, but when I sat back in my wheelchair, I groaned. In the mirror, I looked like a float in the Rose Parade. Right before I wheeled up the aisle, my bouquet slid off my lap. That’s when I spotted a greasy tire mark on my hem. My chair was spiffed up, but it was still a big, clunky thing with belts and ball bearings. I was not the picture-perfect bride. Then I caught a glimpse of Ken at the front. He was craning his neck, looking for me. My face grew hot, and my heart began to pound. Suddenly, my wheelchair and clumpy dress with its smudges faded away. I had seen my beloved, and how I looked no longer mattered. I couldn’t wait to get to the front to be with him...One look from Jesus will completely transform us.”
When we die, we will be with Jesus, and all the “Why, God?” moments will find their answer in the face of our Savior.
Transition: Is there a connection to the life of Jesus that we can draw on to find meaning and purpose in our suffering?
Jesus Connection
Jesus Connection
It’s in Jesus that we see the fullest expression of a “Why, God?” moment and the clearest answer. Suffering on the cross for our sins, not His, Jesus cried out, “My God, My God! Why have you forsaken Me?!”
And yet know that the suffering of Christ had purpose. For He suffered and died for our sins. We affirm with Peter in Acts 2:23 that Jesus was crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men -- an unfair, “senseless act of violence” if there every was one -- and yet it happened “according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.”
Jesus’ suffering was the greatest “Why, God?” moment of all time. Yet it had purpose and meaning. God was doing something behind it.
Application / Gospel Invitation
Application / Gospel Invitation
This question will be on the test, probably more than once.
Are you prepared to answer? What is the best way to prepare?
First: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
Second: understand that you will experience misery momentarily.
Third: believe that “no disaster overcomes the righteous.” If calamity knocks you down, you will rise up yet again in the power of the Spirit. And even the greatest calamity, death, will for you be a refuge. You will find safety in the arms of Christ.