Is IT Wrong To Ask Why?

For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

Romans 14:7–8

Most of us know what it means to be stunned by the sudden passing of a dedicated friend, a godly pastor, a devout missionary, or a saintly mother. We have stood at the open grave with hot tears running down our cheeks and have asked in utter bewilderment, “Why, O God, why?”

The death of the righteous is no accident. Do you think that the God whose watchful vigil notes the sparrow’s fall and who knows the number of hairs on our heads would turn His back on one of His children in the hour of peril? With Him there are no accidents, no tragedies, and no catastrophes as far as His children are concerned.

Paul, who lived most of his Christian life on the brink of death, expressed triumphant certainty about life. He testified, “To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21 NIV). His strong, unshakable faith took trouble, persecution, pain, thwarted plans, and broken dreams in stride.

He never bristled in questioning cynicism and asked, “Why, Lord?” He knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that his life was being fashioned into the image and likeness of his Savior; and despite the discomfort, he never flinched in the process.

It was Sir Walter Scott who asked, “Is death the last sleep? No, it is the final awakening.”

Our Father and our God, sometimes my physical self cries out, “Why, O Lord?” But at the same time, my spiritual self shouts, “Yes, Lord!” I pray for spiritual peace, no matter what physical stress I may encounter. I know Jesus is with me all the time, just as He promised He would be. I pray in His name. Amen.

Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).