Why ask...Why?

Proverbs 16:9,
"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps."

Jeremiah 29:11,
"For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you- plans to give you hope and a future.'"

Yes, God has plans for us. We know that so well.
But yet at the same time, do we really know this?

As Christians, we often accept that God has plans for us when things are going well, but the moment things turn sour in our lives, we ask that common, one-worded question, "WHY?"

We somehow equate trusting in God to understanding why He is doing what He is doing, but yet, where in the Bible does God assure us that we will ever get to know why?
At first, when I thought about this, it was rather unsettling.
See, I think that the common desire in our human minds is resolution; we sit in a movie theater for the sole purpose of watching a conflict stir up then see it completely resolved about two hours later. So, with this mentality, we expect to instantly see some type of resolution from what God if doing in our lives.
Sometimes, we even assure ourselves that it's worth it to do something hard for Him simply because we'll understand why someday.

But, this isn't the way it works.

Recently, I went to a retreat for a Christian program that my family participates in. One of the program's leaders was there and although I had met her before, I had never really gotten to talk to her until that weekend. She was an amazing, Godly woman with lots of experience and insight, but there was one thing that was very different about her; she was in a wheelchair.
See, about eight years ago, this lady and her husband were in a car accident and she was hospitalized for months from injuries. She lived for two months without her memory or the ability to perform menial tasks. The doctors had very low hopes for her because the injuries were so severe, but after those two months, she suddenly started getting progressively better.
Now, she is able to walk for short distances and her memory has returned completely. Her refusal to give up during her physical therapy and steadfast faith in Christ throughout her recovery have brought her to the place where she is today. But yet, at the same time, her life has been drastically changed in ways that I can't even comprehend since she is still physically handicapped from the accident.
And interestingly enough, while I was at the retreat, she and her husband told us that they still, honestly, didn't understand why the accident had happened. But yet, they were still trusting in God and knowing that He had a greater plan for them.


That's when I realized that we need to stop asking why. 
We don't know why the things in our lives happen. Maybe, we never will. But yet, God does.
Just seeing these two leaders continuing to trust Him and know that He allowed such difficult circumstances in their lives for a reason has impacted me. 

Trust is scary because in some ways, it leaves you very blind to what is going on in your own life.
But if you think about what you have to face up against in this world (if you don't know, be sure to read my previous blog post), do you really think you will ever understand everything, even if you don't trust in God?
I don't think so.
So what will it be, trusting in a Savior who has a perfect plan for you and loves you and protects you from anything you can't handle, or trying to do it on your own, but still getting tangled up in confusion, still with no answers?

Plus, if you're still bothered by not knowing why, just remember that you'll probably be able to ask God when you reach heaven someday, and I'll bet that He'll be willing to tell you all about your life, from a VERY different perspective :)

"Love just isn't everything you want, but it's everything you need
its not always happy endings but its happy in between
it's taken so long, so long to finally see
that your love is worth the risk."

-Safe by Britt Nicole