NO EXPLANATION

 My SIL  posted "A Tribute to Mandisa" which appeared on American Idol recently after her loss.  

I could never listen to her singing and not enter into a time of praise.  Such a gifted woman who left us too soon.  

My first experience of losing a young friend was in high school.  A terrible car accident--a tragic occurrence which forever changed the lives of the parents left behind.  Since that time, I have had several young ones who tragically left us far before we could have imagined.  Each time, I was left with the "Why God's"    Even when there is an explanation as to what happened, it still seems so unfair.  BUT, we are not promised fairness--we are promised comfort.  My own father died at 45---leaving three children---my question has always been "What would my life have been like had he not succumbed to lung cancer?"  "Why me, God?"  

There are other losses in our lives --not always death---that leave us with the "Why's" and seemingly no explanation.  I think of those struck with polio when I was a young girl---lives lived with the crippling aftermath.  Nature can play havoc on our lives also.  We see a tornado path with completely destroyed houses abutting those which look like they were barely touched.  Hurricanes which leave us wondering what path they will take when they hit the coast.  Earthquakes, floods, volcano eruptions--and long list of possible tragedy makers leave us in either dread of the possibilities or a state of denial--it could never be me.

Bottom line---there are things in life which we have no explanation.  AND with all the advancements in the scientific world---there will never be an explanation.  OH--the mathematicians can give us probability analysis of the likely hood of being a victim, but there is no explanation of how we were the one in the path, who caught the disease, who was hit by a random bad driver, and on and on.  There is no explanation on this side of eternity for the unexplained.

THAT is where faith comes in.  If you are not well grounded in your belief of God having purpose in ALL things, you may well lose the one thing which might help you bear the unbearable.  I have to believe in a God of order--a God with a plan---A God who choses who and when to call to Him.  Without my faith---this world can be a cruel master which can send us running for the hills.  BUT GOD---is faithful---loves us beyond our comprehension ---and is never surprised.  Without Him--none of this makes sense--with Him--even when I do not understand the unexplainable I can lean into Him knowing His strong right arm will hold me through the storm.  I am not certain I could get out of the bed every morning without this faith.  As Mandisa so well said,

" I JUST WANT TO PRAISE HIM!"

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart;

do not depend on your own understanding."

Proverbs 3:5