“You think too much.” Or, “You’re over-thinking it.”

I’m told that often enough to believe it’s likely true, and one of my most guilty thinking pursuits is chasing the question “Why?” When a friend was into responsibility way over his pay grade, instead of acknowledging that and asking for help he continued to cover-up his underperformance until he’d cost his company hundreds of thousands of dollars, hurting people who cared about him and ultimately damaging his own family and career. Why? A young 29 year old mother died in a car accident recently. Why? A beautiful young teacher full of vibrancy and life is struggling with a mysterious heart problem. Why? A 16-year-old star athlete hits the winning shot at the buzzer securing a perfect, no-loss season for his team and as he is hoisted onto the shoulders of his celebrating teammates his heart stops. Why? In one 30 day span a church elder’s wife has a stroke, then the wife’s mother has a stroke, then the wife is diagnosed with a hole in her heart, then their daughter had brain surgery and developed meningitis, then the wife is discovered to actually have a tumor in her heart—-all in 30 days. Why?

Why? Why? Why? Inquiring minds want to know. We want to understand.

In the midst of the latest round of asking “why” I laid The Message translation of Proverbs 3 on my lap. “Don’t try to figure out everything on your own” leapt of the page. I don’t mean it was highlighted, or it subtly snuck into my awareness. I mean that—as the Old-Timer’s would say, it was “quickened” into my heart, “Barry, don’t try to figure out everything. Just let go of it. Let it be.” The reason? Because I am to “Trust God from the bottom of your heart.” God’s in control, and He is definitely operating above my level of understanding, so I need to trust him and not waste my mental and emotional energy continuing to ask a question the answer to which I couldn’t understand if He gave it to me.

But why?

Who knows? There are as many possible answers as there are people. Maybe its as simple as the fact there is evil in the world. Maybe God is doing something in the life of that person, or in the life of someone I’m unaware of that is somehow related to the situation. The point is, “why” is God’s business, not mine. if I keep asking the why question it will just sprain my brain and drive me further and further away from Abundant Living. On the other hand, if I learn to let “why” hang there, and can persist in trusting the God whose character I have learned to be so worthy of my trust, then Abundant Living is within my grasp.

——————–

Coming up next: The real answer to “Why?”