Curbing The Urge To Ask Why

Curbing the Urge to Ask Why

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” John 9:1-3

It would be so nice to understand why things happen to us at times, but sometimes there isn’t a reason other than God’s being glorified. And even then we may not be able to see that unfold until God’s plan is fully evident in eternity.

The “why” of life has become a bit more prevalent in my life since I retired from coaching football. I now have the opportunity to become much more akin to those affectionately and respectfully called “stay-at-home dads.” I am not at home full-time, but I do have a number of days each week when I help Lauren around the house with the activities and all the school-related responsibilities of our family—and they are many.

I never fully appreciated what a popular word why is with our children. It is most often used in response to my asking them or telling them to do something. When I don’t have a good answer, I will get a “but why?” And then after a while I will simply resort to something fairly clever like, “Because I said so.” This back-and-forth exchange happens most often when I’m trying to get everyone to buckle their seat belts while other parents are waiting in line for me to move my car.

When I was coaching, trying to make sense of something by answering the why question would often present me with longer teaching moments—for which sometimes I had time and sometimes I didn’t.

But sometimes the answers for a coach—and always as a parent—come down to a matter of trust. The ones who are asking why will simply have to trust me that my solution is the best way—this is the way the play works best or you need to do your homework as soon as you get home from school.

It’s the same in our relationship with God when we don’t know why. Sometimes the answer will come later. Sometimes it won’t become clear until eternity. What we need to do now is trust that it is all part of the plan of our all-knowing, all-powerful God. And in the end He will be glorified, and we will understand how what we were questioning was for our eternal good.

Uncommon Key > The question “Why?” doesn’t always come with a ready answer you can understand or know here on earth. But just as you want your children to trust you, you can always trust God, who knows the answer. Keep that in mind the next time you’re about to ask the question.