The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.  Deuteronomy 29:29

Kevin Kompelien and his wife were confronted with the “Why-has-this-happened?” question when their son, then twelve years of age, was diagnosed with cancer. Years of Bible study or seminary provides a lot of knowledge, but there are times that only by going through the valley do we come to understand and experience the reality that God is enough.

Speaking of this challenge to what he believed and taught, he says, “I found myself looking for answers. As I studied the scriptures and prayed I became more and more aware of the fact that I cannot explain to myself and others what God has not explained to me.”

“When I was first confronted with the reality that this deadly disease had touched Brad’s life I thought an answer to the ‘why’ question was what I needed and wanted. Through the weeks and months of our ‘cancer journey’ I realized that wasn’t what I really needed or even wanted.  I came face to face with the fact that although I didn’t have the answers to many of my questions, what I did have was the powerful and personal presence of the Living God in my life in the midst of it. I came to realize that my God was more than enough.”

Did you notice that one sentence: “I cannot explain to myself and others what God has not explained to me”?   Question: If “the why question” is such a definer of our faith, did God leave us ill equipped to face this Gethsemane of the soul?  But then, if God should have gone to great lengths, giving us check-lists and diagrams to follow to take us through those valleys, would we even then understand?

It’s impossible to fully understand what God hasn’t explained to us.  Yet God has not ignored the issue nor does His silence keep us from running to Him in times of need.  One of the earliest of all biblical documents is the story of a man who struggled with this very issue.  His name: Job, and even though he was upright—righteous is the word the Bible uses to describe him—he lost his children in a natural disaster, his income and livelihood, his friends, and even the respect of his wife.  In the end Job confronted the reality of God’s sovereignty and greatness and learned that He is a refuge. God is God and should we have the comprehension to understand the why question, we would be on God’s level or we would have reduced Him to ours.

Paul Meyers, known as the beloved “First Mate Bob” of the old Haven of Rest radio program, used to tell of a child who would bring his broken toy to his father, tears streaming down his face, and asks, “Daddy, why is my toy broken?  Why doesn’t it work?”  Seeing the mechanical reason for the dysfunctional toy, the father knows the child couldn’t understand—too complex, too much beyond his knowledge as a child. Instead of trying to provide an explanation, he picks the little boy up in his arms, hugs him, dries his tears, and says, “Daddy loves you, son. Don’t worry about that.”

The love and compassion of His father then becomes more meaningful than why a broken toy won’t work.  While we cannot understand what God has not explained, we can experience His love and compassion. We can know that His Son will never leave us or forsake us and that He will walk with us as the shepherd of our souls in the valley and take us through our difficulty.

Learning that God is enough is the important issue. You must never forget that Jesus said, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” Even in times of difficulty.

Resource reading: Job 38: 4-41