Originally published Monday, 12 August 2013.
I remember when my oldest son first started asking questions about life and the world around him. It was amazing to watch him think through what he learned and make sense of it all. "Mommy, why are germs bad?" "Mommy, how does the car radio work?" "Mommy, will there be legos in heaven?"
In school I remember learning that there are six important questions to ask when solving a problem, researching a story, or seeking to understand something. These same questions are helpful to use when we study our Bibles to aid in breaking down a passage and understanding the author's intent. They are often referred to as the 5 W's and an H: who, what, when, where, why, and how.
Just as my children ask questions about life, I have questions of my own. When the storms of life come upon me suddenly, I immediately ask, “Why is this happening to me?" That is followed shortly by "How can I get this to stop?" As the trial rages on I ask, "What's going to happen to me? When will it end? Where can I find the cause to this so it won't happen again?"
These questions are often our immediate and go to responses to life's struggles. Like our children, we want to understand how and why things happen. When life is painful, our first instinct is to make the pain stop. And right now. In our society, we've become accustomed to finding solutions and answers to problems in the time it takes to type the question in a search box. Unanswered questions eat at us, nag at us until we feel overwhelmed by doubt and despair. When we don't know why something has happened, we feel helpless and our lives seem out of control.
While all these questions will come and some may or may not be answered, they are not the first question to ask in the face of a trial. There's one question to ask when a storm blows in and knocks us off our feet. This question is the most important and it will in time open the doors to all our other questions.
Who?
Yes, who. It's the one question to ask in the face of any storm, trial, suffering, loss, or painful circumstance. When we ask this question before the others, it leads us directly to the answer.
*Who loves me when I feel unlovable?
*Who can rescue me from my sin and shame?
*Who is the healer of my soul?
*Who will seek and find me when I feel lost, lonely, or afraid?
*Who will provide for me when I lose everything?
*Who can I trust when everyone else lets me down?
*Who will never reject me when my family and friends turn their backs on me?
*Who will be my Rock that I can lean on?
*Who knows me from the inside out and loves me unconditionally?
*Who is stronger than the fiercest storm in my life?
*Who will help me clean up the mess I've made in my life?
Who? Jesus Christ.
He is the answer to the most important question we can ask and only he can help us answer all the other questions. Jesus is the answer to the deepest longings of our heart. He is our everything and without him, we are nothing.
"Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live." 1 Corinthians 8:6
"He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy." Colossians 1:17-18
"Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29
When unexpected circumstances in our life come upon us, the first question to ask is “Who?” Jesus is the source of all our hope, our peace, our love, our salvation, and our life. His perfect life and sacrificial death solved our deepest problem and worst fear. It is Jesus who provides the only way to the Father. He restored us to right relationship with our Maker so that we might become children of God.
Focusing our heart and mind on him in the face of trial and suffering keeps us from sinking in the storm’s waves. Trusting that he is there for us and that he never leaves us keeps us from worry and overwhelming fear. Resting in him and giving him all our burdens and cares quells our despair. When we believe that he loves us, all the other questions fade. Because when we know the answer to “who?” we've found the answer to all we've been searching for.
Is Jesus the answer to your life's questions?
SHARE
