Whether you've heard me say it, someone else share it or you have experienced it yourself, having a newborn combined with an assortment of major home life changes including sleepless nights, results in some pretty desperate prayers. On countless occasions, I remember crying out to God "Why?! Why God?! Why won't You make this baby sleep? I know you are fully capable of calming this child down at three o'clock in the morning. Why aren't you doing it?!" As immature, selfish, and simple as my request to my loving heavenly Father may seem, I was seriously challenged in my faith; especially when I felt weak and when my body was wore by fatigue and sleep deprivation.
Have you ever had one of those "Why God?" moments? Did you grow weaker in your faith or did you come out of the valley with a deeper trust in your loving Creator?
For me, I continue to consider myself a work-in-progress. My faith, at times, can be shaky and unreliable, but what's encouraging is that God is reliable and He can be trusted. Those unshakable truths do not depend on my faith. God IS love. God IS trustworthy. God IS in control. God IS sovereign.
My dear friend, who has abandoned the things of this world and relinquished her life to Jesus for His glory, is currently serving as a nurse missionary in Sudan. As a result of sharing Christ's love through helping the sick, she has contracted malaria. I imagined my sweet, young friend, fighting this horrible, painful disease as a result of obeying Christ's call in her life and I thought what prayers she might be crying out to God in the midst of her illness. Whether or not she's asked God "Why?" I don't know, but it has sure crossed my mind. "Why have You allowed my friend to suffer when she could be sharing more of Your love with these people?"
Mark 8:31-37
He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?This is not our home. Sleepless nights shall pass. The agony of malaria will cease. The things that last are what matter.
I am crushed by the thought of my friend's plight, but her trial has put my own circumstances in proper perspective.
6 Spout:
Praying with you, Rebecca, for Julie! May her light break out like the dawn, her recovery speedily spring forth and the glory of the Lord be her rear guard. (Isa. 58:8)
Love you!
Maw
Thank you! Julie gave me an update and said she is improving.
I will pray. It's so interesting that you posted on this topic, because I was pacing my living room at 3 am with Clementine when the thought popped into my head, "This isn't punishment. it's preparation." So cool!
Thanks for praying, April! I love when God makes connections in my day, too. It reminds me that God has not left us here to figure things out on our own and that He does love us and wants to care for us as a loving Father would.
Your thoughts are so, so true! We need to keep everything in life that we are going through in perspective. If Jesus suffered for us, why do we think we won't? All of us have asked the question, "why?", but I think we need to change it to "why not?" We need to use all suffering as an opportunity to identify with Jesus and grow in our faith. Thanks for sharing these powerful words with us!!
"Why not?" That's a great point, Annette!
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