Skip to main content

When You Wonder Why

When life smacks you upside the head, do you ever wonder why?
Why is this happening to me? To my family? To... whatever!

Not a sparrow falls to the ground without God’s knowledge…
But sparrows still fall.

God works all things for the good of those who love Him…
But He still allows His saints to suffer.

And He doesn’t always tell us why.

Does God see me in this mess?

  • When it seems like everyone else smiling, but you are just too tired to fake it.
  • When leaving the house seems like a momentous chore.
  • When things look dull and your life seems the same day after day.
  • When you’ve been cheated, betrayed or kicked out.
  • When all the nice Christian answers just don’t cut it anymore.
  • When “difficult” is an understatement for this current life season, and you can’t see an end.
  • When you wonder who your real friends are.
  • When you try to hear from God and there’s only silence.

I feel like the desire to know why is built into us.
If we can just put our finger on it- the cause, the reason, calculate exactly how it will all play out. Then maybe we could have a justified reason for going through our suffering.

Maybe we would get through it with less pain, knowing the “why.”
Or maybe not.

In the meantime, check out these action steps. They won’t solve all your problems, but they will help carry you through the questions.

  • Hold on to what’s good and true.
  • God is still there for you even when He seems silent. 
  • Because we live in this fallen world, suffering comes to everyone, often without warning or explanation. Still we can choose to believe in God’s sovereign hand, and know in time He will redeem our pain. 
  • Search the scriptures and hold on to all that is good and true. 
  • Embrace His promises daily. 
  • Remind yourself that you are a child of the Most High God. 
  • You may not see it right now, but He is working behind the scenes on your behalf.

Relax and know that He is still God.

How can we be still when our life is in chaos? Most of us have heard Psalms 64:10 many times, but maybe it’s time for a second look. 

Sometimes we just need a good reminder that God has not changed, and we can relax in His loving and gracious hands. He is still in control. Practicing stillness before the Lord is not always easy, but is a necessary part of soul care. Take a look, there’s more to that verse than you may think. Read Stillness in Times of Trouble.


Watch for the little, gentle reminders of His love.
So often in our mess, we forget simple blessings that can inspire gratefulness.

  • The beautiful flower you normally pass by. He created that.
  • The friend that sticks by you when the going gets rough, and offers their heart in return.
  • The sun on your face and warm breeze after a long winter.
  • The perfect song on the radio… at just the perfect time.
  • The timely message that comes just when you need it. A hug, just because.
  • The hot meal waiting for you when you get home.
  • The unexpected kindness.
  • The sunrise, sunset, and other natural wonders He gives each day.
  • The blessing of hope on the other side of the pain.

Guard your mind.


We often are our own worst enemies. We have this battle of the mind going on between who God says we are, who we think we are and how others perceive us. The tricky part is feeding the truth and rejecting the lies. Focusing on God’s truth is vital to our ability to hold on to hope.

Life happens and we usually don’t get a complete explanation.
But if we keep breathing, hold on to all that’s good and true (now and to come),
relax in His love and watch for the little blessings that inspire gratefulness;
we will make space for our soul to find hope again.

Maybe the why won’t matter quite as much as it did before.

Popular posts from this blog

New Year Resolutions Worth Keeping

I can hear the audible sigh already. New year resolutions – why bother?   Here’s the thing… often we trip over them because of our internal baggage. We start out with good intentions, only to end up in self-sabotage. • We want to be gentler on ourselves, but continue with negative self-talk We want to start (fill in the blank), but have no plan • We want to change a behavior, but don’t deal with underlying, contributing emotional issues • We want to get out of debt, but don't really want to do what it takes • We want to take steps towards a goal or a dream, but allow fear to hold us back   What if we made our internal lives a priority this year? What if we focused on what we can do to build our character and energize our spirits instead of yearly external resolutions?  A rich internal life makes us a better, more mature person.  After all, everything trickles down from our inner lives anyway. This is why God makes the “heart” a priority - for all attitud...

Soul Tattoo: What Defines You?

The Scripture is full of references that talk about the soul and the spirit. It’s so important in fact, that the Old Testament mentions it over 785 times and the New Testament over 103 times. It’s pretty clear that in God’s big story for mankind, our souls- the essence of our inner most beings- is important to Him- so important that He sent His son to die for our sin, our weaknesses, and our shame.  Our soul is the thing that makes us unique. It’s how we relate to others and how we understand ourselves. It comprises who we are. Often our souls feel like a roller coaster- sometimes weary or unsure- sometimes comfortable, content or even at peace. We all have invisible tattoos (so to speak) that make an imprint on our souls… earthly things that work to define us. They may have been in the past or are currently influencing our perspectives. They can make a mark so deep that the imprint may feel like it will last forever. So the question is this: what defines you...

Sighting of the Strange Kind

I have to tell you about something I saw on vacation. So we're driving down the road towards our destination- an afternoon of zip-line action.  Yes, this is my husband. The zip line guru. Upside-down. We're enjoying the view, warm air in our face and sound of the waves hitting the shores of lake Michigan.  No job, no stress, no reality really. Like the screeching of a record (yes, I remember what those are), the scene in front of my eyes broke my serene state of mind.  I turned to my husband and asked "did you just see what I just saw?"  Right in front of us was- what looked like- the world's largest seagull gulping down an entire squirrel .  I am not kidding.  Head first, down it went until the tail was completely gone. We sat there with our mouths hanging open. It's not like I ever thought those scavenger birds were cute or anything, but a whole squirrel?  That's just too much nature in one viewing!  I've never been the type to...