WWHHYY

I just returned from a road trip on which I spent 24 hours driving. I didn't mind. Solitary road trips give me time to talk to my Jesus, hear His voice and allow Him to minister to my soul with very few interruptions.

When I drive, I am oddly aware of license plates, signs, billboards--I read everything, and I notice a lot. This time, as I returned from my trip there were two things that stuck out to me more than anything else, two things I believe the Lord used to encourage me. The first one was a license plate that read "WWHHYY" and the second was Orion.

Sundown came at about 5:30pm, so for three hours I drove east on I64 with the constellation of Orion directly in front of me. This has always been my favorite constellation, probably because for me it is the easiest to recognize. But this night the Lord used it to remind me of His words to Job.

Essentially, Job spends most of his time lamenting his sorrows and asking the Lord why this affliction has come upon him, and his amazing friends provide really encouraging answers [insert sound of derision here]. And in chapters 38 & 39 the Lord finally answers Job, beginning with the words, "Where were you...?" The Lord spends two chapters asking Job questions in answer to his main question (Interesting, Jesus often answered questions with questions...)Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Who determined its measurements? Have you commanded the morning? Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you entered the treasury of snow? Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the belt of Orion?

I think the Lord proves His point, and quite effectually at that, that He is I AM. He is almighty. He is the Creator of the Universe. He is omnipotent. He is from everlasting to everlasting. He is the ruler over all.

He is not flippantly or meanly dismissing Job here. He is not saying, "I am so big and powerful I don't have to answer you, you tiny, weak, pathetic thing." He is not saying, "Look at all I've done, how dare you question Me?" He is reminding Job of who He is (as well as who Job is not), reassuring him that He is all-powerful, He is in control and He knows exactly what He is doing.

In any "why" question we might present to Him--why did I go through this, why did You allow that to happen, why did I have to suffer this, why do I feel alone, abandoned, rejected, hated, why am I in this situation--we can rest assured that He is in control. And if we know Him, we know that He is good and that He works all things for good for those who love Him and who are called according to His purposes. So we can trust Him, even in the haze and confusion of not understanding why.

Several years ago I heard a prophet say that the Lord doesn't answer the question "Why?" and I think he was both right and wrong. Perhaps He might not explain His specific reasons, but I think everything He does and allows is for His glory. If He gives no other answer for "why?", that is enough. It's for His glory. Because this life is all about Him.