Who vs. Why

For the past five months I've been teaching freshman girls discipleship class at a Christian school.  Some of the girls come from healthy families while others come from homes so dysfunctional I wonder how they make it to school each day.  The children who attend the Christian school are no different from the children who attend public school.  The difference is in the environment.  We, as teachers, are trying to make Christianity contagious.  We have lesson plans, yes, but more than that we hope our own relationship with Jesus is evident and desireable.  It is often said that Christianity is caught more than taught.  This teaching job has rekindled a fire in me to see the next generation put their trust in God and see Him do amazing things in their lives.

While I love my job, I have to admit it can be painful.  At times my girls make choices I know will lead to trouble but I feel powerless to prevent it.  Like a mother, I want to wrap them in my arms and protect them from the dangers of this world.  Having lived longer, I know what's out there and I want to shield them from the darkness.  It's about this time the Lord reminds me He is in control.  It's not my place to keep them locked up in some sort of Christian vault but rather to prepare them for His service to a hurting world.

Pain was not part of God's plan when He created man.  We are responsible for that.  However, God is so amazing He can take pain and turn it into something beautiful.   In the story of Job, when he lost everything - his belongings plus all ten of his children in one day - his friends tried everything they could to explain the 'why' of what happened.  In the end the 'why' didn't matter.  It was the 'who' - or should I say 'Who'. 

Out of the approximately 31,000 verses in the Bible, Job 42:5 is one of my top favorites.  After all of the discussion on why bad things happen, God came to Job and allowed Job to see Him in a powerful way.  Job had never experienced God like he did after his terrible tragedy.  God spoke to Job like He had never done before.  God didn't explain the 'why' but He revealed the 'Who' so well that Job didn't ask any more questions.  He just marveled.  Job's response to God's revelation of Himself was, "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you." (Job 42:5)

We've experienced so much sadness and pain over the past week.  It seems like everyday there is more bad news.  My natural tendency is to ask 'why?'  But what I need to seek is the 'Who'.  My prayer for us in the wake of tragedy is to see God in such a way that the 'why' is no longer the issue.  May God stand before you as He did for Job.  May God's love overshadow our pain. 

It's not coincidence that the book of Psalms follows the story of Job.  "Weeping may last for a night but joy comes in the morning", Psalm 30:5.