I Don't Get IT!

Wow, how many times have you said this before?  "I don't get it."  You probably did after someone tried to tell you a joke in which they struggled with the telling because they were laughing so hard and when they concluded they looked at you waiting for your reaction to be the same and instead you gave them the blank stare and simply said, "I don't get it."

As a parent you probably have said this when you struggled to teach your child something over and over and they didn't seem to get it, you couldn't understand why and then say, "I don't get it."

Or when you tried to watch a sport for the first time and the rules were complicated, made no sense to you and when you left you said, "I don't get it."

When I look at the views of my blog, how many there have been and where people are located that are reading it, I say, "I don't get it."  I'm blown away and yet I know it would seem small to many bloggers.

United States   5609

Russia                  50

Ukraine                10

Haiti                       9

Canada                 8

Belize                    4

Germany               4

Mexico                  4

United Kingdom    3

France                  2

Maybe there is someone that is close to you, had their life planned out and suddenly set it all aside to do something totally uncharacteristic.  Your response?  "I don't get it."

Maybe it has been with an illness, accident, life changing event that occurred totally unexpectedly and all you could do was say, "I don't get it."

Or there was a time in your life when you prayed and prayed for something, never seemed to get the answer or result you were praying for and looked to God with this in mind, "I don't get it."

There is much that is happening around the world, to Christians, to innocent people, and to children.  There are wonderful strong Christian families who suddenly find themselves with a child who seems to have totally gone the opposite way.  When these things happen, of course we would say, "I don't get it."

A few weeks ago a young man from our home town in Iowa died unexpectedly.  You don't expect an eighteen year old to die from natural causes when he appeared to be in great health, popular, a great athlete.  He seemed to have his whole life yet to live as some would say.  And now this week here at a local high school two young lives were ended.  On Monday a sophomore fell ill and passed away.  Unknown cause.  The next day, another from the same school took his own life.  When reading of these things, how can you not say, "I don't get it."

Many in the world might say if there is a God, why would He let this happen?  You can be a strong Christian and yet falter in times like these and question God.  This is when we as Christians need to encourage one another, lift each other up, and be reminded of who God is.  

We live in an imperfect, fallen world.  We suffer because of sin, and it doesn't even have to be our own - it can be from the affect of someone else.  God doesn't plant bombs, pull the trigger of a gun or create illnesses.  These are results of living in a world full of sin.  I will not try to pretend I have the answers or that I never fall short.  The Bible is full of amazing and unbelievable things that God has done and promises to do.  I'm certainly no match for His wisdom.  In times like this, when things happen that causes us to say, "I don't get it", we need to be reminded of the hope we hang on to in God, through His Son who gave his life for us so that we who profess of Him have the promise of an eternal life free from suffering. And accept that it is o.k. to some times say, "I don't get it."

We will not ever go through anything alone.  God can use these things in many ways to bring glory to Him.  Trust in God, that He remains in control, faith in what we can not see or understand, and hope in our Heavenly Father.  Read Hebrews 11