Finding Purpose in All of Life's Sorrows and JoysSample

Sometimes You Don’t Have the Whole Recipe

Maybe you’re feeling lost. Remembering what God’s done in the past isn’t quite doing it for you in the present. You need something now, today. You’re calling out to Him. You know He sees the notifications, but it feels like He’s screening your calls. Confusion, doubts, suspicions, and even—if you’re completely honest—a growing resentment. Why, God?

It’s a good, important question. People in the Bible ask it all the time. Now, you may not always like the answer you get or even get an answer that makes sense at first. But that’s life.

The Teacher tells us,

As you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.Ecclesiastes 11:5

You may never see the whole picture. You may never know all that goes into the recipe. And that can be frustrating, even infuriating. When things are going badly, and you feel cut out of the loop, your Why, God? can easily turn into, How could You, God? How dare You, God?! But these are no longer questions. They’re accusations. Your heart rages, and God becomes the target.

Is there a better way to respond?

I’m reminded of the story of Job. Job was a righteous man who honored God. He had great wealth, a happy family, and everything seemed to be going well. Then, without warning, it was all taken in the worst sort of ways—quickly and completely. In the time it takes you to read the first chapter of his story aloud, he lost everything. When we read Job’s story, we’re told ahead of time that his faith will be tested by suffering. Satan wants to prove to God that Job only honors Him because Job is prosperous. But no one fills Job in. His so-called friends think he’s somehow to blame, but they don’t know what they’re talking about. So, Job cries out to God for answers, only to get an unexpected reply. God tells Job, more or less, to know his place, to remember his Creator: “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?” (Job 38:2). God may as well have said, Let Me cook! Job ends up proving Satan wrong and receives back everything he had lost and more. But he still isn’t given any answers.

You aren’t promised any answers either. And maybe that’s difficult to swallow. But have you considered that your frustration, anger, and sense of injustice all come from God in the first place? I mean, if everything under the sun is all there is. If everything really is meaningless, why are you even complaining? Why should you expect anything else?

But that’s the thing. Something deep within you whispers that life should be better, that things do have value. Injustice riles you up. And where else could that feeling come from, other than being created by a just and loving God?

The Teacher tells us that God has set eternity in the human heart(Ecclesiastes 3:11). And it is that eternity that makes us so unsatisfied with the present. We aren’t lost because God hasn’t bothered to find us. We’re lost because we’re determined to look for lasting purpose in passing things. Stop staring at the ingredients, trying to figure out how they all fit together. Look to the Chef.

Reflect

So, what now? How do you go on from here? One word: worship.

Reflect for a moment on what worship means to you. Does it bring you joy? Does it make you uncomfortable? Are you even sure what it is? Sometimes when we’re in a hard season, the last thing we want to do is worship. Why do you think that is?

When you are suffering, I want you to consider that worshiping God could be the most important thing you can do.