“Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?” (Romans 9:20).

Every believer goes through difficult experiences from time to time—loss of a job, a painful injury, failure of some plan, death of a needed loved one, even facing a terminal illness of his own—and the natural tendency is to cry out: “Why, O God?”

God surely understands our longing for an answer, because He made us—“He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14). But He would have us merely to trust Him. Job, who surely suffered more than any of us, could say: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him” (Job 13:15).

Job did indeed plead for an understanding of his undeserved sufferings, but God did not answer as requested. Instead, He responded merely by reminding Job of His great creation and His providential care for all living things (Job 38–41). As our great Potter, He has the right to make His vessels for both honor and dishonor (v.21). We who have been redeemed by His mercy should be grateful that He chose us even before the world began (Ephesians 1:3,4; II Timothy 1:9), confident that He—by whatever means He chooses—is preparing His “vessels of mercy” to receive the full manifestation of His glory in the ages to come (v.23; Ephesians 2:7). The fact that our finite minds cannot fully comprehend right now what He is doing in our lives merely gives us an opportunity to trust Him more.

“We know that all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28) in those who are His. Therefore He would say: “Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator” (I Peter 4:19). HMM