We all have them. Each and every one of us has at least one “why” question we desperately desire God to explain. Yours is probably whatever you are thinking about as you read this post. We all have them. So why doesn’t God answer them? We discover an answer to this question in an unexpected place: Job, chapter 28. In his excellent commentary on Job, Christopher Ash writes:
“In chapter 28 we stand back from the pain and debates to ask why God will not answer the question ‘Why?'”
And in chapter 28 God does answer Job’s question, but not in the way we anticipate or initially desire. But this is the answer Job needs to hear in response to his agonizing ‘why’ questions. And God’s gracious answer when understood and applied to our ‘why’ questions will comfort and strengthen our hearts in the midst of inexplicable suffering like nothing else you will ever hear or read. Like. Nothing. Else.
This post is adapted from a sermon I preached at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville.