The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.” Joel 2: 25
Restoration! Restoration! Who doesn’t love the word restoration? We all long for some type of restoration. But take notice of the last sentence… God says that it was He who sent this destruction… it was HE! I intentionally picked out these verses because today I want to address something some so desperately need to hear, either to help them make sense of what’s happening—especially in times of great adversity, or to just simply proclaim truth…
You’ve tried every way that you possibly can to get yourself out of the situation or circumstance you’re in, and nothing seems to work —nothing! You feel trapped. You may feel lonely, angry, suicidal, depressed, confused, etc. I know that your emotions are all over the map because mine were too! I know I’m talking to somebody… You’re suffering is not in vain! You may be asking “Why me? Why this? Why now?” There are a million questions you could be asking. I can only speak from experience. My illness caused me to start asking questions, and those questions led me straight to Jesus. I wanted to hear what God had to say about what was happening to me. So I read the Bible cover to cover in search of getting answers. Of course only God entirely knows the reason, but the Bible does give us some clues as to why adverse things happen, and I’ll share some of these verses I’ve found that helped me wrap my head around the “Why’s”…
· “But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves by selling me to this place. God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. It was God who sent me here, not you!” Genesis 45: 5, 7-8
· Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out again, his hand was white as snow with a severe skin disease. “Now put your hand back in your cloak,” the Lord said. So Moses put his hand back in, and when he took it out again, it was as healthy as the rest of his body. Exodus 4: 6-7
· Then the Lord’s heavy hand struck the people of Ashdod and the nearby villages with a plague of tumors, and there was a great panic. 1 Samuel 5: 6
The book of Job brings me much comfort:
· “For though he wounds, he also bandages. He strikes, but his hands also heal.” Job 5: 18
· “God has blocked my way so I cannot move. He has plunged my path into darkness.” Job 19: 8
· “Be on guard! Turn back from evil, for God sent this suffering to keep you from a life of evil.” Job 36:21
· “But by means of their suffering, he rescues those who suffer. For he gets their attention through adversity.” Job 36; 14-15
· “He makes things happen either to punish people or to show his unfailing love.” Job 37: 1
· “My suffering was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.” Psalm 119: 71
· “He has sent fire from heaven that burns in my bones. He has placed a trap in my path and turned me back.” Lamentations 1: 13
· “He has destroyed her palaces and demolished her fortresses. He has brought unending sorrow and tears upon beautiful Jerusalem.” Lamentations 2: 5
And these are the words I memorized, meditate upon, and recite back to God:
· “I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! Because of his mercies we are kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies are new every day. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” Lamentations 3: 20-24
· “Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.” Lamentations 3: 32-33
· “Who can command things to happen without the Lord’s permission? Does not the Most High send calamity and good?” Lamentations 3: 37-38
· “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
· “Instead, God chose things the world considers powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.” 1 Corinthians 1: 27-28
And there are many more… Dear friend, if you’re struggling with the “Why’s,” let me encourage you to read I Believe Many Need to Hear This. When you are at your wit’s end, only hanging on by a thread… this is the time God pours out Words of Life. And that’s exactly what these words are.