So many unanswered questions. Why do horrible tragic events happen to good people? Why do spouses, children, friends, strangers go off the rails and do reckless, permanent damage to themselves to others to relationships? So many questions for God.

Having said that, I will also admit that none of those questions have ever gotten me wrapped around the axel, losing sleep, or crying out to God for answers. Somewhere in my long attempt to walk in the dust of Christ, those issues settled for me. The understanding that God is sovereign covers most of it, and when I combine His sovereignty with the understanding that if becoming a Christ follower gave automatic immunity to evil and tragedy, then everyone would sign up to follow. I mean, what’s the downside right? Follow Christ, get 24/7 angelic protection, never have a financial crisis, no crippling diseases, no tragic deaths, yes – sign me up. 

But it doesn’t work that way. Life is full of tragedy. And loss, and pain, and loneliness, and despair. It is also full of breathtaking beauty, the joy of a newborn, laughter, hope, and most of all, love. Love that gives meaning to life, love that instills our place in the world, love that means our future is set to forever with our God and creator.

As a parent, I remember so many times my kids were so frustrated by my direction. What to eat, what to wear, where they’re allowed to go, and all the while never really understanding that as parents, we saw so much more than they did. That really we were working to provide them with tremendous security and the right and best kind of freedom. They were free from the burden of ordering their lives, getting everyone where they needed to be and when they needed to be there, making sure everyone had meals, snacks when needed, new clothes when needed, and so much more. 

All grown ups are like children when it comes to God ordering our lives. We question, challenge, complain, and argue. Yet how much more capable of ordering our lives is God than we were as parents? Do we not yet trust Him to provide for us, to bring about our ultimate best? It seems easy to do when life is good and the blessings flow. Not quite as easy to trust Him to order our lives when pain and suffering are all we see. Yet we are called to trust Him.

My point, and my goal, is to live life understanding that I will never have an answer for the suffering in this world. I’m striving to truly know that God sees it all, and He is ordering my life. And yours. In the end, He will somehow bring rhyme and reason, justice, and understanding to every event, every action, every triumph, every tragedy. 

May we walk today with the faith of a child in a father who loves us beyond our ability to understand. A father who is bringing order to our lives, who has all of the details of our lives right where they need to be, a father who asks us to trust and lean not on our own understanding.

Grace and peace