Why God?
5 min read
34 Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.”
35 The angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.Numbers 22:34-35
It’s not clear at all why the angel of the LORD came to oppose Balaam. God had told Balaam to go with the men, but as soon as he did, the text tells us that God was angry with him. However, the text never tells us why God was angry with Balaam.
And I think for most people, the lack of a reason for God’s anger is frustrating. Especially as believers, we want to know why God was angry so that we can justify God’s actions in some way.
But God doesn’t need us to justify His actions. God is God. We are not. And if God’s word presents something to us that is difficult, if not impossible, to understand, can we be OK with not understanding?
On the one hand, asking the question “why?” is important for our understanding of God’s word. On the other hand, maybe we are too obsessed with wanting to know why God does what He does.
Maybe we are too obsessed with wanting to know the “why’s” of everything that doesn’t suit our liking. Maybe we are too obsessed with wanting God to do everything according to our liking.
However, if we ever come to a point of being OK with not always understanding the “why’s” of God, it would also be a mistake to simply assume that God is capricious. We shouldn’t think, “Well, God is God, and so God will just do whatever the heck God wants, even if what He does makes no sense.”
We cannot ignore the attributes of God that are revealed in the full counsel of Scripture. And so, we must not look at specific things that God does in isolation.
When it comes to understanding why God does anything that He does, we must begin and end in the right place. First, we must begin with the absolute certainty that God is good, and that God is love, and that His lovingkindness, faithfulness, and mercy endure forever. And then, we must end with the absolute certainty that everything God does is for the sake of His glory.
Everything that God does must be understood with that beginning and end in mind—even if on the surface, it makes no sense.
And from that place of understanding, if we are patient and inquisitive, perhaps God will reveal the “why’s” of the more difficult passages.
Father, You are good, and Your lovingkindness, faithfulness, and mercy endure forever. Forgive me when I make assumptions about You that are not in line with what You have already revealed to me in Your word. Help me to understand and to trust and to be patient in You. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
