trusting God even when questions are not answered

In the last month or so, since my friends lost their little boy, I've wrestled a lot with the whole idea of God being good. It really doesn't seem like a good God would let all that has happened for this family happen. When life doesn't seem fair it can be easy to begin to question how a good God could allow that to happen.

And, I'm discovering that sometimes the questions we ask in those times when things seem unfair because of suffering on this earth don't have an answer that we will understand on this earth. We can't open our Bibles and find an answer. We ask God and what we hear doesn't seem to really answer that question . . . because He's calling us to just trust Him anyways . . . to trust Him and believe Him even when it doesn't make sense. That's not an easy thing to do.

We want answers. We want to know "why" something happened. But sometimes we don't find out. And then we make the choice to trust God and believe Him and continue to follow Him even though we don't understand His reasons for what He allowed. We look back at times in the past when God has showed Himself good and worthy of our trust in the past and we move forward in the current time because of those times in the past, not because what is going on right now makes sense.

Almost a year ago now, another friend of mine from working at summer camp lost her husband in a freak accident and now this has happened just a month ago to more friends from camp. Neither situation seems fair from an earthly perspective. And I don't know that I'll ever totally understand either of them while I'm on this earth. I can't imagine being in the position of any of my friends who have gone through this. It seems almost impossible for think of what they are walking through. And yet, I also am amazed at how they have walked through this all. They haven't given up. They have persevered even when it would seem easier to just give up. And that's something that has made me realize that it is possible to trust God, to believe God is good, and to continue to follow Him even when all that is happening in life seems so unfair and their seem to be no answers to hard questions.