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One of the first words we learn is why. If there’s a child under five in your home right now, you probably hear that word many times each day. It seems from the very beginning we want explanations and answers. But what do we do when there are no answers?
I don’t like unanswered questions, do you? I don’t like loose ends and unfinished business. Yet life is full of them.
I tell you quite frankly there are many times I can’t find an answer for things that happen to me and to others. I bombard heaven with my whys, but the heavens are silent. You may be right now in the midst of some situation for which you can find no answers. God is silent. The heavens are like stone. You’ve begged for explanations, but none have come. What do we do when there are no answers?
Mary and Martha faced that dilemma when Lazarus died. You know the story. They sent for Jesus to come and heal Lazarus. They were confident Jesus could heal him and prevent his death, and that he would do so, for they knew how Jesus loved Lazarus and them.
They sent out their cry for help, but we read in John 11:6 when Jesus heard Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days. He loved them but he didn’t come to their rescue. Why? I can see Martha and Mary waiting by the side of their sick brother, expecting Jesus to walk through the door any minute. But as hour by hour passed, Jesus didn’t show up. Lazarus got worse and worse, and they watched him die.
Do you think they wondered if Jesus really loved them during that time? Don’t you imagine they must have felt abandoned and forsaken by Jesus, to realize he could have come and healed their brother, but he chose not to?
Have you felt that way? I think we all go through similar reactions when there are no answers. Even if you feel abandoned, the good news is, you are not. Jesus has promised never to leave you or forsake you, and he never fails to keep his promise. So, let me encourage you today with what David said as recorded in Psalm 40:1: I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. The Lord hears your cry, and he has not forsaken you.