Revelation Over Explanation: Guest Post by Kelly Follett

In the midst of this time of suffering and upheaval, I have received a lot of encouragement from my fellow students. There is a wealth of hope in us yet, even in our displacement! I thought I'd feature a few of them here so you could receive some of that truth.

Kelly is one of my dearest friends. Rare are the friendships in which I have truly found myself weeping with someone--but with her, it happens fairly often. She has known the Lord in suffering, like few others her age. So it is with great joy that I extend to you the gift of her thoughts:

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We humans love the question, “Why?” We see it as early as we can talk in that little 2 year old who pesters his parent all day long asking, “Why? Why? But why, Mom?” We, in simply how we’re wired, long to know the answer to this question, especially when it comes to our relationship with God and especially in seasons of difficulty. 

I wonder if you, like me, have asked these questions in the last weeks:

God, why am I back home now, when I never thought I would be again?

Why am I not able to say goodbye and make more memories with people I thought I still had time with?

Why do I have to grieve yet another loss?

Why can’t I finish my semester the way I thought I would?

Why can’t I be with community in this time in the ways I’m used to?

Why can’t I go to church and worship alongside other believers?

Why are people dying?

Why are people losing their jobs and kids not able to go to school?

Why don’t I feel I have a place?

Why do you feel so far away God?

And here’s a great thing about our God: He’s safe enough to let us approach Him and ask the questions. However, if there’s something He’s been teaching me this year so far, and especially in these last weeks, it’s that “why?” may not be the best question to ask. 

Perhaps instead of “God, why?”, a better question to ask is: “God, who are you?”

In this season, like never before, I see God taking me on a journey of discovering who He is. Passages like Isaiah 40 and the book of Habakuk have been huge comforts in this time. Studying His specific attributes has been humbling and led to great rejoicing. I heard a sermon by J.D. Greear a few years back on Job 38-42 in which he said, “Job wanted an explanation for why he suffered; God instead gave Him a revelation of who He was.” We see in psalms like Psalm 73 and 77 the psalmists crying out to God and being real with their emotions and circumstances (which, again, like I said above, He’s safe enough and big enough to handle all of it. Please, cry out to Him in honesty about your hurt and losses in this time), but, the writers don’t stay there. They cry out, and then they remember who God is. They concentrate on who His is and what He’s done. Circumstances don’t seem to change. But surely their confidence and hope in God does.

And the same is true for us. When we know the truth about God’s character and attributes, and we choose to believe them regardless of what we feel, we realize that we have every reason to trust Him, and we can thank Him in the midst of our greatest sufferings.

God is wise.

God is good.

God is sovereign.

God is powerful.

God is unchanging.

We can know that He’s not finished. We can know that He’s working and doing something absolutely incredible and far beyond all we could imagine. We can know He’s working all things for good. We can know that our suffering is not unseen and is never wasted.

So, to whoever is reading this, ask Him to show you who He is. I believe He delights in showing us. Saturate yourself in His Word in this time. Hold fast to Him in prayer. He’s good. He’s faithful to finish the work He starts. He’s with you. And He loves you more than you could possibly know.