Early in 2021, a rare infection entered my bloodstream and ravaged my heart. I almost died several times. Teams of heroic doctors scrambled to save my life. Lying in a hospital bed for months withered my body and soul. People suggested God had reasons for allowing me to survive open-heart surgery and serious complications in my lungs, stomach, and kidneys.

At first I was too sick to care. But as I recover, I wonder if the answer is so that I could have one more shot at trying to persuade people to adopt the mind of Christ as revealed in the Bible. 

As my own faith has developed, I have avoided asking why when it comes to acts of God. God’s thoughts are unsearchable. The apostle Paul says, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Romans 11:33). He doesn’t consult with anyone but listens to prayer and is willing to change his mind. Jesus didn’t know everything God was thinking. Who am I to ask why?

We can identify with King David as he wondered why. His psalms don’t explain a lot, but they express the joy and frustration in the restless heart of a flawed and faithful child of God. From the anguish of his soul, David wondered why the nations raged and why God was standing far off. We wonder too during pandemics, wars, social unrest, and grave illness. Our best hope is to depend on great David’s greater Son, Jesus, to shepherd us, calm us, and restore us in his goodness and mercy.