Why We Stopped Asking Why in the Midst of Uncertainties

As long-term workers on the field, our lives are teeming with uncertainties.

On a daily basis, we struggle with a barrage of mundane questions:

• Why was the water just cut?
• Why does the fare change from one bus to another?
• Why do we have a pack of street dogs barking at the same ungodly hour in the early morning, every morning?
• Why does the neighborhood shepherd lead his flock through our streets during the times of heaviest traffic?

Even after decades of experience in the Muslim world, we still find that the answers to our whys are elusive.

Early on in our career, we pressed our local friends for sensible responses to our questions. They often responded with a two-syllable word that rolls nicely off the tongue: iste, meaning just because.

As we learned to accept that iste was the best response, we stopped asking our local friends for real answers to our whys.

Amid these uncertainties, I can spend sleepless nights running through various scenarios.

Lately, I’ve been bursting with whys. The spread of the coronavirus has dramatically altered how we go about our lives and ministry. Geopolitical factors in our region are also affecting the long-term presence of our fellow workers in the country. Visa renewals are more difficult for our colleagues, and some families are being ordered to leave on short notice.

Amid these uncertainties, I sometimes spend sleepless nights running through various scenarios—our plan Bs and Cs in case we too must leave. I am thankful God welcomes me to come to Him with all my nagging questions of doubt and bewilderment.

Martha didn’t ask why, but I can imagine her silently pleading, “Why didn’t you come earlier?”

Remember how Jesus responded when Lazarus was dying? Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus, but He didn’t immediately come to their side. He waited until after Lazarus’ death.

Upon seeing Jesus, Martha blurted out, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21).

Martha didn’t ask why, but I can imagine her silently pleading, “Why didn’t you come earlier?”

Instead, she offered a hopeful plea: “But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Martha didn’t give up her faith.

We’re not giving up, either. Our heartfelt cries before the Lord are framed within the reminder, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:4).

Our lives are anchored in the truth that the things we experience are for the glory of God.

We don’t understand a lot of life, especially when it’s sprinkled with paradoxes and perplexities that test our calling and commitment to faith.

But our lives are anchored in the truth that the things we experience are for the glory of God.

In the midst of our whys, the Lord calls us to wait and watch as He works the miracle of faith in and through our lives.

• What uncertainties are you facing right now? Prayerfully offer these to the Lord as you commit to trusting Him.
• Ask the Lord to help you persevere in spite of your questions so that you will be able to wait and watch as He works to glorify His name.
• Pray for an increase of faith and hope in the hearts of workers, whose lives on the field are often marked by constant uncertainty.