Newsletter - June 2005

Dear Friends:

Have you ever thought about how important it is in life to ask the right questions? All we need to do is to watch a few episodes of Law & Order to realize that the lawyers most adept at asking leading questions are those who uncover the truth.

Asking the wrong question will give you irrelevant answers. When my younger daughter was 5 years old, she pulled a kitchen island over on top of her, bumping her head and crushing her nose. A few days later, the doctor who had performed the reconstructive surgery, had her in his office for a follow up visit. Wanting to make sure she was seeing clearly, he held up two fingers and said, “How many fingers do I have?” She answered, “Ten.” He laughed at her literal response and rephrased his question. In order to get the right feedback, he had to ask the right question.

I used to be a reporter for a west Michigan newspaper. I attended school board meetings and city council sessions, reporting on the happenings in a two area communities. I quickly learned that, if I wanted to be able to write a story of substance and accuracy, I had to ask the right questions. Good questions gave me good information. Poorly phrased or inappropriately directed questions yielded very little that was useful.

Now, here is the question of the day for us: What is the first thing we tend to ask when we are facing problems, troubles, or difficulties in our lives? Be honest. Most of the people I talk to are quick to acknowledge that the first question that comes to mind is “Why?”

Why did God give me a disability?
Why did I not get the raise I deserve?
Why is my baby sick?
Why did the storm damage my house?
Why am I depressed so much of the time?
Why do others have so much when I struggle to make ends meet?
Why is the company I have worked for so many years relocating to another state?
Why did God allow me to have a car accident?
Why is my marriage so difficult?
Why doesn’t God bring my children back to relationship with Him?
Why can’t I have the new house (car, clothes, vacation) I want?
Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?

The list could go on and on, couldn’t it? Have you ever asked God, “Why?” Most of us have at one time or another. Maybe you are asking a why question right now. But I would propose to you that perhaps when we ask “why?” we are asking the wrong question. I am even going so far as to suggest that we will get a better answer when we ask a better question!

What if we take a look at the problem we are facing right now and, instead of asking “Why?”, we ask “What?”

What does God want to teach me through this?
What can I do with this problem that will help someone else?
What can I learn about trusting God even when I don’t know the “why”?

Do you see the difference a shift in question can make? It seems to me that when we ask “Why?” we are focusing on ourselves. When we are self-centered, we begin to feel sorry for ourselves, our energies are directed inwardly, and we certainly are not thinking creatively and constructively about our problems. It is very easy with a solely inward focus to get bogged down and to begin to feel hopeless.

But when we begin to ask the “what” question, the focus changes. We can now look to God for a response that is outside of ourselves. We can stop the self pity, we can quit comparing ourselves to others, and we can allow God to begin to work on our inner beings. We will be surprised as He begins to show us creative ways to solve our problems. We will be overjoyed as we see how our situations will align us with others who may be suffering the same difficulty. And before we know it, we see solutions, results, and changes of heart that can come only from the working of God within us and for us.

Remember the biblical jailer at Philippi? Paul and Silas were in his prison, chained to the wall, safe and secure. There was no chance they were going to escape on his watch! But the unthinkable happened! An earthquake struck Philippi with such force that the foundations of the jail were shaken. The panicky jailer ran from his house to check on his prisoners and found the unthinkable: All the prisoners had been let loose from their shackles! He thought his only choice was to commit suicide until he realized that the prisoners had not run away.

At that point, he not only did not take his life, but he also did not ask “Why me? Why would the gods allow the prisoners to have a chance to escape? Why did my jail get destroyed? I’ve been a good man. I did everything I was supposed to do to make sure this jail was escape proof. Why did this terrible thing happen?”

No. Instead of asking “WHY?” he went to Paul and Silas (who, by the way, had been singing hymns of praise in the middle of the night even though they had been beaten almost to death and they were chained hand and foot to the jail walls) and said, “Sirs, WHAT must I do to be saved?” Now that’s a question God can answer! And he did answer it by bringing the jailer and his entire family into belief in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Acts 16:34b gives us the end result: “. . . he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God – he and his whole family.” The “why” question would have brought despair; the “what” question brought joy.

A great verse to cling to when we are struggling with an overwhelming difficulty is Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.” (The Message). In an earlier version of the Bible, this verse promises that God will show “great and mighty things which you do not know.”

So, I look at it this way. If we ask “Why?” the “ y” at the end of that word reminds us that the focus is on “ you”. If we ask “What?” the “ a t” at the end of that word can remind us that the focus is on “ almighty things” – things that only God can show us and only the Holy Spirit can teach us.

An African proverb states, “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” True, isn’t it? If we are to grow God-honoring characteristics in our lives, we will have to encounter some storms. Next time we are in the middle of one, let’s remember to ask “What?” of our God instead of “Why?”. We may be surprised at how He responds!

Have a great and wonderful beginning to your summer as you leave yourselves open to receiving great and mighty things from God!

Bev

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