Living with the Unanswered “Why?”
“The question was not ‘why’ but ‘what?’ God, what would You have me to do?” writes Ellen Vaughn in her excellent biography, Becoming Elisabeth Elliot. “For Betty, whether God told her to go confront Pharaoh or go to live among the Waodani, she determined to do it, regardless of the results.”1
Vaughn’s recent biography of Elisabeth Elliot has encouraged my walk with God and sparked my spiritual imagination. A good missionary biography does that—showing how God has worked in more modern contexts and providing a window into the trials and struggles of those dedicated to God and His work.2 Among other gems scattered throughout Elliot’s biography, I discovered this discussion of the timeless struggle with the question “why?”.
Asking Why
I often find myself asking the “why” questions. Why did the pandemic happen? Why did that person die so young? Why do I suffer with chronic health issues? Why did such a great door of opportunity for God’s work close? Why do I often not see the results I pray for in my ministry? Why? Why? Why?
And it’s not just me. Many of God’s people in the Bible also asked the “why” questions. In Psalm 73, Asaph asked why the wicked prosper (Psalm 73:3). Habakkuk asked why God would use wicked Babylon to punish His own people (Habakkuk 1:13). Asking why is not a sin, and God graciously responded to both Asaph and Habakkuk’s questions.
Answering Why
God is sovereign and omniscient. He knows the reasons for all things. Our Heavenly Father could answer every “why” question we ask. Sometimes He does.
However, sometimes the “why” lingers. God, in His infinite wisdom, may choose not to give a reason. Or maybe we miss the reason that’s staring in our faces. Whichever the case, the seemingly random frustrations or meaningless trials drag on. If we are not careful, we can become consumed with an unanswered “why”, our minds spinning in hamster wheels of futility. When the reasons we seek allude us, what should we do?
Replacing Why with What
We need to change our question. Don’t keep asking why. Ask what: “Lord, what would you have me to do?”
When the reasons for what God allows in our lives remain a mystery, we must obey God despite our lack of understanding. In Psalm 73, Asaph remembered God’s character and promises and chose to draw near to God, put his trust in God, and declare all God’s works (Psalm 73:28). Asaph may not have known why the wicked prospered or how long their oppression would last, but he knew that in the end, God would set all things right. So, he chose to obey in the present even when all his questions were not yet answered.
When God responded to the prophet Habakkuk’s “why” question, His answer also did not list reasons for punishing evil Israel with the even more wicked Babylon. But God did tell the prophet what he should do: “the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). So, Habakkuk chose to “rejoice in the Lord” and make the Lord his strength, even as judgment loomed (Habakkuk 3:18–19). The prophet obeyed even though much of the “why” question still lingered.
Living with the Unanswered “Why?”
So, can we live with the unanswered “why”? In the Lord’s strength, we can. As we learn to depend on Him, we can. While obeying His commands, we can. Seeking His will in the situation, we can. Leave the whys to God and ask what He would have you to do.
Elisabeth Elliot, no stranger to such dilemmas, would often quote an old Saxon poem:
Do it immediately, do it with prayer, do it reliantly, casting all care.
Do it with reverence, tracing His hand who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on omnipotence, safe ‘neath His wing, leave all resulting, do the next thing.3
Dr. Conrad serves in urban Asia. He is the author of missionary devotionals Daring Devotion and Daring Dependence. He blogs at Rooted Thinking, we republish his material by permission.
Photo by Fa Barboza on Unsplash
- Ellen Vaughn, Becoming Elisabeth Elliot (Nashville: B&H, 2020), 264. I recommend this missionary biography. It goes beyond Elliot’s own biographical works which focused on her husband and ended with his death (with the exception of The Savage, My Kinsmen). The final summary chapters have some intriguing insights. The whole book is well worth the read. I have added it to the list of must-read biographies on my author website. [↩]
- Discover more missionary biographies through my two missionary devotionals, Daring Devotion and Daring Dependence. [↩]
- Quoted in Vaughn, 268. [↩]