But Why?

Devotional for Sunday, February 17, 2002 by Ruth McCowan

There are so many things in life that we just can't explain. Often these are the things that are completely beyond our control. Maybe someone we love was taken from us because of a thoughtless accident, or as a result of a disease. Maybe we are dealing with the loss of our own health or someone else's. Maybe we have lost a job unexpectedly. Maybe a dream will not be realized. Maybe a relationship has died, and we are grieving that loss. And the list goes on.

Today's verse admonishes us not to lean on our own understanding, but this is exactly what we do. When things don't go the way we think they should, we try to pull them apart, to dissect them, to bring about some kind of understanding. "If we could only understand why this happened, maybe we could learn to accept it and to heal the hurt." Does that sound familiar? The next step seems to be, "Well, if someone else could only understand what we are feeling, then it might feel better," but that never happens, because no one could truly understand our loss. Well, almost no one. There is someone who does.

"In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:6) When we bring our focus back to God, from ourselves and from our loss, then we discover that it is God who understands our hurt, and it is God who is able to make our paths straight again. It is God who can heal us of all our hurts.

Prayer: Thank You, gracious God, for knowing our hurts and for understanding our pain. Come to us today to begin the healing in us. Help us to trust You, so that the healing can begin, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Ruth McCowan <emailzoom@shaw.ca>
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

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Today's Music:     A Shelter In The Time Of Storm.  

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