Why?: Trusting God When You Don't Understand

By Anne Graham Lotz

Called "the best preacher in the family," by her father, Billy Graham, Anne Graham Lotz speaks around the globe with the wisdom and the authority of years spent studying God's Word. In her latest book, Anne shares her heart and God's teachings on the universal problem of suffering.

Drawing her characteristically keen insights from the familiar story of Lazarus in the ninth and eleventh chapters of the Gospel of John, Anne offers Jesus' reassuring answers to our heartfelt cries for understanding:

• Why doesn't God care?
• Why does He let these things happen?
• Why me?
• Why doesn't God answer my prayers?
• Why didn't He protect me?
• Why doesn't He perform a miracle?

Why? helps us understand and deal with suffering while guiding us to the ultimate answer-the Savior who shares our grief and our tears.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: May 4, 2005
• ISBN: 9781418519452

Anne Graham Lotz

Anne Graham Lotz, hija de Billy y Ruth Graham, es la presidenta y directora ejecutiva de AnGel Ministries, una organización sin fines de lucro que apoya sus esfuerzos por llevar a las personas a una relación con Dios por medio de su Palabra. Inauguró su ministerio de avivamiento en el año 2000 y ya ha hablado en los siete continentes y en veinte países extranjeros, proclamando la Palabra de Dios en estadios, iglesias, seminarios y prisiones. También es la galardonada autora de trece libros, entre ellos Magnífica obsesión.

Book preview

Why?

Trusting God

When You don't Understand

OTHER BOOKS BY ANNE GRAHAM LOTZ

The Vision of His Glory

God’s Story

Just Give Me Jesus

My Heart ’s Cry

Daily Light

Daily Light Morning and Evening Journal

Just Give Me Jesus Journal

Heaven: My Father’s House

Why?

Trusting God

When You don't Understand

BY

ANNE GRAHAM LOTZ

00-01Why_0003_001

© 2004 Anne Graham Lotz. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotation in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published by W Publishing Group, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc.,

P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214.

W Publishing Group books may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please email Special [e-mail].

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Other Scripture references are from the following sources:

The King James Version (KJV) of the Bible.

The New King James Version (NKJV), copyright 1979, 1980,

1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers. Used by permission.

Unless otherwise indicated, non-Scripture chapter epigraph quotations are taken from Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, comp., Streams in the Desert (1925, reprint: Zondervan, 1977).

I Lay My ‘Whys?’ Before Your Cross by Ruth Bell Graham from Ruth BellGraham’s Collected Poems, published by Baker Books, a division of Baker Book House Company, copyright © 1977, 1992, 1997. Used by permission.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lotz, Anne Graham, 1948–

  Why? / by Anne Graham Lotz.

          p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

    ISBN 0-8499-1786-7 (hardcover)

    ISBN 0-8499-0845-0 (softcover)

 1. Consolation. I. Title.

    BV4905.3.L68 2004

    248.8'6–dc22

2003026213

Printed in the United States of America

03 04 05 06 07 RRD 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dedicated

to

those who have unanswered prayers

Contents

Foreword: In a Difficult Place, a Strange, Warm Peace . . .

by Joni Eareckson Tada

. . . And a Word of Comfort and Hope

Why?

Trusting God When I don't Understand

Why Doesn’t God Care?

Trusting God’s Heart

Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen?

Trusting God’s Purpose

Why Me?

Trusting God When It’s My Heart That’s Broken

Why Is God Silent?

Trusting God’s Goodness

Why Did God Let the Worst Happen?

Trusting God Beyond the Grave

Why Did God DoThat?

Trusting God to Know Best

Why Doesn’t God Protect Those He Loves?

Trusting God’s Plan to Be Bigger Than Mine

Why Hasn’t God Answered My Prayer?

Trusting God to Keep His Word

Why Didn’t God Intervene?

Trusting God to Be on Time

Why Hasn’t God Met My Needs?

Trusting God to Be Enough

Why Doesn’t God Perform a Miracle?

Trusting God Alone

Epilogue: Why Won’t God Release Me from the Pain?

Trusting God to Set Me Free

Notes

In a Difficult Place, a Strange,

Warm Peace . . .

BEFORE MY HUSBAND and I rushed out the door yesterday to drive my mother-in-law to UCLA’s cancer clinic, I rummaged around looking for reading material to help bide the time. Here, take this, my friend said, handing me a manuscript that had just arrived in the mail. I looked at the title, Why? and remembered I had promised Anne Graham Lotz I would write the foreword. I tucked it in my bag, and we were off.

We arrived at the clinic and had to search for a few open seats. The place was crowded with families sitting quietly, somberly flipping through magazines, and checking their watches every now and then. The air was heavy with sadness. I glanced at my mother-in-law, a frail eighty-four-year-old woman struggling against the last stages of pancreatic cancer. She sat slumped, waiting, with both hands folded on top of her purse. My heart twisted whenever I saw her wince in pain. All of us were hoping she’d be helped with one more chemotherapy treatment.

I breathed a prayer as they escorted Mom Tada—that’s what I’ve always affectionately called this brave, hardy little Japanese woman—into the chemo room. She hunched her shoulders, and I could tell the pain was worse. Oh, Lord Jesus, I prayed, can You not lighten her load a bit? Ease her plight?Please?

After Ken and his mother disappeared behind the doors, I sighed and turned to Anne’s manuscript and began reading.

After the first five pages, I sensed a strange, warm peace flood my heart. The Bible verses seemed fresh and alive. The story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus—I felt as though I were reading it for the first time. The testimonies were riveting and revealing. The poems and quotes resonated. Page after page, I found comfort and consolation, encouragement and insight. I looked up and bit my lip, realizing God was using this remarkable book, Why? to speak to me, to comfort me, to escort me into the deeper recesses of the heart of my Savior.

God, thank You for placing this book in my hands for such amoment as this!

Mom Tada’s chemo treatment took almost three hours. By the time she was wheeled back into the waiting room, I had nearly finished the manuscript. Breathing a sigh and sharing my smile, I gave my mother-in-law a hug straight from the heart. Or maybe . . . it was a hug straight from God’s heart. For Anne Graham Lotz had helped me get it all back in focus. Her book Why? provided just the insight, just the comfort, I needed to pass on to my family that afternoon. Bolstered and boosted by the Spirit of Christ, we sang hymns all the way back home.

Need I say more about the book you hold in your hands?

Thank you, Anne, for reminding me—for reminding us all—that we can trust the One Who holds all the answers to that jarring question Why? Just knowing that is . . . enough.

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JONI EARECKSON TADA

Joni and Friends

winter 2004

. . . And a Word of Comfort

and Hope

THIS BOOK IS BASED ON the following portion of God’s Word:

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, Lord, the one you love is sick.

When he heard this, Jesus said, This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it. Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

Then he said to his disciples, Let us go back to Judea.

But Rabbi, they said, a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?

Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.

After he had said this, he went on to tell them, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.

His disciples replied, Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better. Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

So then he told them plainly, Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.

Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in

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