Thursday, July 16, 2015

What Do We Do When There Are No Answers?

We are facing evil days. There could hardly be anything more terrible than living in a world where people can murder children to use them for their parts. Unless perhaps it is living in a world that turns a blind eye to it, and attacks the people who exposed this infamy.

Those of us who still care cry out to God for answers, but it seems there are none. So often, I feel as though He is turning His back on this country. And it is what we deserve. There have been times in the past when God has done the very same thing, and allowed the corruption of a nation to drag it down.

Perhaps Psalm 88 describes such a situation. In it, the psalmist Heman cries out to the Lord for mercy. This is a theme of many of the psalms, but this prayer is different because there is no answer. Heman does not conclude with praise because he has nothing to be thankful for.

Sometimes it happens this way. Sometimes God does not respond. Sometimes, He offers no hope.

But even in the despair of this realization, there is still a glimmer of light. In verses 10-12, Heman asks God a series of rhetorical questions:

Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise You... Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction? Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

The obvious answer is, “No.” Only the living can appreciate God, so He needs to preserve them while there is time. But in truth, the psalmist is wrong. God will work wonders for the dead, and they will rise and praise Him. His lovingkindness will be declared out of the grave, and His faithfulness out of destruction. A day will come when He will turn the darkness into light (Isaiah 42:16), and His righteousness will never be forgotten.

Even in the face of evil such as that of groups like Planned Parenthood and those that support them, even as God gives no answers in the moment, we can know that beyond the edge of our despair is a far greater hope. Nothing that happens here can ever compare with what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us. We live for Him now, fighting for the defenseless, because we know that is what He has done. We confront the world, even though we cannot win, because we will be victorious with Him forever in heaven.

These are dark days. But a light shines out of the darkness (John 12:46). When we have unanswered questions, we can find our hope in it.

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