Life’s Questions, God’s Answers

Life’s Questions, God’s Answers

Our ancestors trusted in You and You rescued them. Ps 22:4 (NLT)

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1 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? 2 Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief. 3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. 4 Our ancestors trusted in you, and you rescued them. 5 They cried out to you and were saved. They trusted in you and were never disgraced. 6 But I am a worm and not a man. I am scorned and despised by all! 7 Everyone who sees me mocks me. They sneer and shake their heads, saying, 8 “Is this the one who relies on the Lord? Then let the Lord save him! If the Lord loves him so much, let the Lord rescue him!” Psalms 22:1-8 (NLT)

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As mortals, we are bound by time. The past is beyond our ability to change and the
future is unknown. We can only live in the moment.

Christians usually understand these verses to be prophetic. Words taken from here
are used to explain Jesus’ experience at Calvary.

Calvary seemed to be such a great defeat. The innocent and loving Jesus was held
up to ridicule, falsely accused and eventually assassinated. While death could have
been easier, Jesus was spit on, His flesh was torn from his back and He was
cruelly fastened to a cross. He was stripped of His clothes and taunted
in the midst of His totally undeserved agony.

Jesus knew His Heavenly Father loved Him and, confusing as it is to the rest
of us, Jesus knew that God was working out something of immeasurable benefit.
Because of His faith in His Father, He looked down on His tormenters and said,
“Father forgive them.” (Lk 23:34) In essence, Jesus was saying, “Charge
this horror to Me. I will pay for the human cruelty and hate.” Wow!

We need to follow our leader. God’s miracle is often achieved through our faithful
trust in Him. The follower of Jesus has hope. Hope never shines
brighter than it does in the midst of distress.

There are two challenges that face us. The first is when the challenge is personal,
when I am in the midst of the whirlwind. I must come to terms with my doubts and
trust God, knowing that if I trust Him, He will be honoured and I will
find blessing in or from the experience.

The second challenge is more difficult. This occurs when we see a loved one
suffering. It seems unfair and destructive. We know that we can intercede through
prayer and we can offer whatever practical help is available to us. However, when
the suffering of a loved one is beyond our power to remedy, there can be a deep
sense of despair and our trust in God can be shaken. Still, it is our personal

confidence in God and in His desire to bless that must prevail. The person in the
midst of this storm must trust for him or herself. It may be that our faith
will be God’s instrument to bring an inner peace of mind.

Mortal life is frail and uncertain. All of us must face unexpected and unwanted
challenges. The victory occurs when we walk closely with God through the “valley
of the shadow of death” (Ps 23:4) — whatever that phrase might mean in our lives.
It is in His company that blessing is born and inner peace achieved.

In the challenges in your life today, can you trust God and withstand the temptation
to despair? The Bible is filled with accounts of imperfect people in desperate
circumstances; however, when each incident is concluded, the lesson is the same.
God is in control and He desires to bring blessing to those who will trust in Him.

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Heavenly Father, I do not understand why people who appear to be fully committed
to You still encounter terrible things in their lives. Surely, if I have chosen to follow
You, I should be able to expect that things will go well. I understand that You are a
good God and that You want to enrich my life. Yet it seems that people who follow
You still face painful illnesses, personal losses and unexpected reversals in their
lives. Please help me to reconcile my understanding of Your faithfulness and
Your love in the context of what I see as unexplained, unnecessary
and unexpected suffering. Amen.

- Noel Churchman

Noel was the Executive Director of Christian Horizons form 1976 to 2001. The devotionals we will be using are from a book he wrote in 2005 called “Walking with God”. Noel’s reflections are grounded in his experiences as an educator, and provider of supports for individuals with exceptional needs as well as his life as a dedicated follower of Christ.