Making Sense of the "What" and the "Why"

   
I recently read something that at first almost sounded like some sort of riddle, yet after reading it over and breaking it apart it made so much sense to me and caused me to write it down to share.  "But, as in all of your Christian life, the key is not to understand the Bible based on your experience, but to understand your experience in light of the Bible." Now you may read that and it just makes perfect sense to you, but for my thick head, I had to take it apart to fully grasp the beauty of the directive. At the end of the day, I guess my best translation of this message would be that you can't fully grasp what is happening in your life or what has happened in your life without understanding first the principles of why things happen in your life. That explanation is laid out in the Bible which provides guidance, instruction, and comfort to us if we earnestly strive to understand the "why" before we begin to question the "what" in life.
     Hardship, disappointment, afflictions, and yes tragedies bombard us sometimes in short episodic events, and at other times it may feel like you are living in a pit of despair that offers no hope for resolution. We look at these events and think "Why me Lord? What have I done to deserve this?" In those instances, we are really looking at "what" is happening, and from that perspective we then apply the "why" it must be happening. Our thoughts move towards the idea that what is happening must be punishment for something we have done in the past or are currently involved. Let me assure you that is not what is happening.
    Although God hurts and is disappointed when we fall short or when we turn our back on Him, He doesn't intentionally punish us for our disconnected state. He wouldn't have sent His only son to die for our sins if that were the case. Instead everything that occurs in our life has a purpose connected to it. It is our responsibility to develop a personal relationship with God which will enable us to embrace "what" is happening in our life, because we first have understood "why" things like this have to happen in our life. The apostle James summed it up like this in James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." For the author of this passage, he has reached a place where he understands that whatever trials he faces, the end result will be exactly what God has planned, and although we may never see the final outcome of what God's plans are in relation to a tragedy in our lives, the end result will produce outstanding results for someone or even a multitude of someones if we only trust and stay faithful to our Creator. Believe me this kind of thinking just doesn't happen by chance. You have to be rooted in faith which develops that perseverance that is mentioned in the scripture above. 
      A dear and wise friend shared a thought with me last night that proves to be very appropriate for the conclusion of today's FTM thought. Doris Lawrimore and I were discussing how many times in life what man labels as devastating or destructive events are actually the very lessons we must endure so that we can be better able to handle the real adversity in life when it happens later in life. Doris in her wisdom, said "That's why roads are built going back and forth up a mountain. If the roads were built straight up and down the mountain we would never reach the top. The grade would be too steep, and we could never gain enough traction to make it to the top." How true that is, the back and forth design of roads is exactly what happens in our own journey in life. We can't shoot straight up the hill and never experience any setbacks or challenges. Those events are critical to our development and that development only transpires when we rely on the word of God to enlighten us, comfort us, and guide us as we make our way up the mountain! Don't ever lose faith and always remember that "what" happens to you is never as important as "why" it is happening to you. My prayer is that you and those you come in contact with will gain a better understanding of this concept by relying on the God of the valleys and the same God of the mountain tops! 

Coach Carter