13 Jan Leave the “Why” Behind
A new year has begun and with it we often make new goals, resolutions or simply think of what we are hoping for in the coming year. Some people reflect on what happened, the challenges they faced and the obstacles that they overcame, but sometimes we can get stuck in the muck of years past and struggle to move forward.]
When we go through difficult times or experience jolting heartache it is tempting to ask “Why God?” Our minds seek to understand while our emotions desire resolution. We want to be able to look at disappointments and make sense of them, but what happens when we just can’t see the purpose of our pain?
I was thinking about this one day as I was reading in the book of John. In John 11 we find the story of the death and resurrection of Lazarus. Jesus receives a message from Mary and Martha that their brother is sick and they ask Jesus to come and heal their brother. Jesus waits two days before he goes to visit Mary, Martha and his friend Lazarus. When He finally does arrive, the sisters inform Him that Lazarus has died.
When Mary saw Jesus, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died”(John 11:32). Mary gets a happy ending to her story; Jesus resurrects her brother, Lazarus, from the dead. But why did Mary and Martha have to go through all of that? They watched their brother die, they grieved his loss, they felt the intense pain of losing someone they loved. Yes, Lazarus returned to them, but those two days must have been agonizing for them.
Mary and Martha had hoped that Jesus would heal Lazarus as He has done for so many others, but once Lazarus died they no longer knew if Jesus would come and actually resurrect their brother. They believed that it was possible, but they weren’t really sure what Jesus was going to do.
The story of these siblings ends well, but what was the purpose behind all of the drama that took place to get to that happy ending? Why didn’t Jesus just go when He received the message and heal Lazarus before he died so that the sisters didn’t have to experience such acute grief?
As I read this story of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, I began to see that there was a whole chain of events beginning to unfold that were kicked into high gear with the resurrection of Lazarus. In John 11: 53, which follows the story of the death and resurrection of Lazarus it says, “So from that day on they [the Pharisees] plotted to take His life.”
We know that the Pharisees and teachers of the law already hated Jesus, but it was this particular miracle that sent them over the edge. They determined that the only way to stop the crowds from flocking to Jesus was to kill him. This was the turning point in the story where the Pharisees moved from emotion to action. After Jesus resurrects Lazarus, He proceeds on to Bethany, where He is anointed by Mary Magdalene, in preparation for His burial.
“When all the people heard of Jesus’ arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus.” (John 12:9-11)
Next comes Jesus’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem; where did the crowds come from for Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and why did they want to see Jesus so badly? They had heard about the resurrection miracle and were eager to welcome their long-awaited, conquering Messiah, Who would deliver them from Roman rule.
“Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign.Then the Pharisees said to each other, ‘There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him!’” (John 12:17-19)
Purpose in the pain? I have to wonder if Mary and Martha and even Lazarus realized the significant role they played in the launching of events that lead to the redemption of all mankind. God needed a plan to set the Pharisees over the edge so that they would kill Jesus, so that Jesus could die for our sins and be resurrected. The Lord selected these siblings to have a role in His marvelous and elaborate plan to reunite mankind with the God of the universe.
Mary and Martha likely did not understood that there was a much larger purpose in their pain; a purpose that went so much further than their family, but regardless, they chose to trust Jesus; In the midst of their pain, they chose trust.
We may not get a happy ending to all of our stories on this earth; we may never understand or comprehend why we have to go through particular heartbreaks; but one thing we can do is that we can trust in an all-knowing, all-loving and all-faithful God.
Who knows what role you may play in God’s heavenly plan. Can you trust that you may not know the “why” now, or even in your lifetime, but choose to trust the “Who” that is in charge of the plan? I challenge you to let go of the heart-wrenching “why God?…” and embrace the Father who loves you and has a plan.
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