Looking for answers to difficult questions

When is the last time you tried to find the answer to a difficult question?
Ralph Royse and I were talking recently about trying to find information
about some question we had. It only took moments for us to both state that,
"the first place we look anymore is on the Internet".

If you are like me you have far more questions than answers. We want to know
"why did this or that happen?" or "How could that person do that to us?" or
'Why was that decision made?" and as you can imagine, the list of questions
is almost unending. It would be great if the answer to every question was
easily found by just typing it into the computer and hitting the send
button. It would be nice if we could find complete understanding and know
the "whys" of everything, but obviously it doesn't work that way. There are
some questions for which the answers are difficult to find or perhaps there
just is no answer that will satisfy us.

It seems that many, if not most, of our most important questions have to do
with our lives and what decisions are the right ones for us. Perhaps we ask,
"what would be God's will for me in this difficult time; this question with
which I need to deal; or decision with which we are faced?

In my many years of struggling with questions like this I have come up with
a general answer for dealing with difficult situations. Granted my solution
may not work for you, but perhaps it's a place to start.

OK, here is the solution: Make the best decision with the all of information
you have or can gather and then forget about it!

Now you may be scratching your head and wondering what I am talking about,
it can't be that simple! Yet, I think that is a biblical approach to dealing
with difficult situations or times in our lives. You most likely are
familiar with Romans 8:28 where Paul writes, "And we know that God causes
everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are
called according to his purpose for them" (NLT).

You may never have thought about it, but it all boils down to a matter of
faith doesn't it? You see the truth of the matter is, that there is no way,
that we as human beings can know everything in our world or universe. There
is no way in which we can know why everything happens. We cannot know how
our decisions will work out in our lives. We don't know why things happen
the way they do or what other things will happen in the next minute, next
hour or next year. So how in the world can we expect to know with any
absolute surety that we are making the right decision or that we have the
right answer to dealing with every situation?

The answer is only by trusting in God and having faith that what Paul wrote
is absolutely true. That God truly will cause everything to work out
together for the good of those who love God! We must believe that no matter
how bad things seem to be, God is still in control of the Universe. Notice
Paul did no qualify that statement in the matter of time or understanding.
God does not promise that we will either live to see the good or understand
the good when it happens. He just says that God will make it happen!

If we look at life in that way and understand who is really in control of
our world it can take a lot of pressure off of us. It's called "walking by
faith, not by sight", (2 Corinthians 5:7).

So, do you have a lot on your mind? Are you worrying about things that you
can't possibly know the outcome? How about just doing the best you can and
trusting in God to work it out to the good?

Russ Lawson