Have you ever asked God WHY? Some of you may be asking this question right now. Why is our nation going through this Coronavirus situation?
I was recently on a call with a close friend and, after some conversation, he asked me a question that no one has asked me before.
Asking ‘Why?’
In 2008, there was a period after Kyle Jr.’s death when I started to ask God why. After all, if he is God, and I believe He is, then He could have stopped the accident. He could have stopped the car from losing control. He could have saved Kyle, but he didn’t.
Please understand that I wasn’t asking this question from a “pound my fist on the table” perspective. WHY GOD? It was a conversation: “God, I believe you are all powerful and if you chose to, you could have stopped Kyle from dying. But you didn’t.”
“So why didn’t you? What do you want me to know? What do you want me to see? What do you want me to do?”
So when my friend asked me, “What was the why?” I realized this was something I have not shared with many people to this point.
God’s Ways Are Higher Than Our Ways
My wife and I were watching America’s Most Wanted and the story was about a young teenage girl that was attacked and brutally beaten by a man. The man bashed her skull in with a rock and left her for dead. But she didn’t die.
Once she recovered from the near-death portion of the injuries, it was now time for rehab. She had major brain trauma. Her mother moved with her across the country to live near a hospital that specialized in the care she needed. And for three years, this mother watched her teenage daughter learn how to walk again, talk again, how to eat again, how to go to the bathroom again and much more. Near the end of the show, they interviewed the girl and her mother. The girl was … well, all I can say is she was badly hurt and would never be the same.
The next day, I was driving and thought, “I could never do what that mother did.” (This is very hard for me to say. I want to say that I could and would do anything if my son could have lived. I feel weak and selfish saying this, but it is the truth.) I do not think I could have gone through the pain of seeing my once-whole and healthy 17-year-old son – who was a firecracker and always on the go, riding his four-wheelers, dirt bikes, go-carts and anything else he could for an adrenaline rush – have to learn how to talk again, walk again, eat again and end up handicapped and never the same.
The Bible says that God’s ways are higher than our ways. In this moment while driving, I felt that one of the answers to my “why” question was that God chose to “save” our son by calling him home.
I say it like this. Let’s say God said that I could call Kyle up and tell him, “Hey son, I’ve got great news. God said you can come home.” I’m guessing Kyle would say, “Dad, do you realize where I am? I am in heaven. It’s beautiful here and, no offense, you are a good father, but I’m with God the Father.”
I believe that God answered my “why” question through my spiritual mind, eyes and ears.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask ‘Why?’
What I know for certain is that asking the “why” question changed what I know and do, as well as how I see trials and difficulties.
Chris and I are praying for you, for your families and for our world in this very different and difficult time in our country, and in our lives.
May God be with you and bless you.
