Oh God, Why? - 1 Peter 2:19 Series

Thursday evening after I put the finishing touches on my sermon, I went out for a walk with all the prayer cards to pray for you all, and about ten minutes into my walk I received the most painful phone call I have ever received. One of the dear sisters in our church went to be with Jesus at age 14. She took her own life, although I am convinced it was an accident. One of the sweetest, happiest, most delightful faces in our church over the past four years or so, we will no longer see. Why would God let this happen? One of her favorite verses was Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. There are a lot of tragedies we can think through and think of ways that it could work out for good. But this? A beautiful, happy 14 year old girl dying this way? And the horrific agony and pain that her family and friends will suffer for the rest of their lives? How could this possibly be good?

If only we could know what she was thinking. If only there were a note, or something on her Facebook page, or diary, or a comment to a friend – something to give us some idea what was going through her mind so we could know why. How could it possibly be a good thing for us not to know?

When bitter calamity strikes like it did Thursday, everything in us just wants to reject it. When you lose a loved one in some horrible way, or you endure some assault or abuse, or you contract some terrible disease – when those huge, massive calamities come crashing into our lives, our natural reaction is, “No, no, no – this can’t be true. This can’t be happening.” We do not want to accept it, but reality forces its way in on us, and we are left reeling with thoughts about how wrong and absurd and meaningless and undeserved it is. It just comes out of nowhere and baffles our sense of justice and the way things ought to be.

One of our most important jobs as leaders in this church is to preach and pray in such a way that when the day of calamity comes, you do not curse God. And not just that you not curse Him, but that instead of cursing you might worship Him. Not contrived, forced, outside-only “worship,” but true, genuine, heartfelt expression of delight, trust, rest, and hope in God. And so far so good. What happened Friday night – Sam sends out an email about an impromptu prayer meeting, and almost the whole church shows up – the place is packed and prayers and praises went up for over an hour straight without a break, and hearts of God’s people were offering some of the truest and deepest worship we have ever offered in this church. That is wonderful. But the test is not over. There is more that God requires of us. Our immediate response was good, but what we have to do now is respond in a godly way in the long term.

The Calamity

We have been studying in 1 Peter about suffering while doing good. Would this count? Does losing a loved one count as undeserved suffering? Absolutely. What happened Thursday did not happen because of some sin we were committing. Hundreds of you were out doing all kinds of good that day, only to be hit with the horrible news. Losing a loved one is definitely in the category of unjust suffering, and so everything Peter says in chapter 2 applies – including the part about it being commendable before God if you endure it in a godly way. It brings honor and glory to God when we respond to something like this with worship rather than cursing – or even questioning. And no book teaches us how to do that like the book of Job.

The book starts out describing Job’s remarkable godliness. He was blameless. And out of nowhere comes an absolutely unthinkable calamity. Job did not just lose one daughter – he lost all ten of his children in one day. On top of that he lost all his wealth, and he contracted a horrific, painful disease with open sores that became contaminated and infected with worms. The grief in his heart must have been absolutely unimaginable. So sudden – just out of nowhere, undeserved, unexpected, unjust.

And then the writer gives us a glimpse of something that Job never got to see – and that you will never see in your own life. The whole book Job is crying out, “Why? Why? Why is this happening?” And the book starts out right off the bat by telling us why. So the reader knows why. Job never does – not even at the very end, when God speaks to Job. But just this once, God lets us see into heaven so we get the answer to the question why.