Trust what God is doing even if you have questions

"The secret things belong to God"

- Deuteronomy 29:29 (NIV)

With the recent calamity of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have questioned me why God is allowing this. I have my personal suspicions. But I'm not exactly sure, either. The simple answer is we live in a world of good and evil, and sometimes bad things happen.

When I was a young girl, there were times I'd inquire of my mother, why? I wasn't being sarcastic or stubborn; I just wanted to understand why we were doing something a certain way. Even though I asked the question, many times my mother would respond, "Because that's the way it is."

Now, I am not disputing if my mother was wrong or right in her response. But when it comes to relating to God as my Father, I find myself still asking why some things happen.

You may have asked some of these questions, too. Why me? Why have things turned out this way instead of the way I planned? Why this?

There is nothing wrong with sincerely asking God the question why. I think we should ask God some questions. It helps us to discover His plan for our lives. He may show us we made a choice that caused the situation to happen, and we need to correct it.

It could be something happened resulting from a bad choice someone else made and we need to confront it, avoid it, or simply forgive it. Something may have happened to us as a result of an innocent attack from the devil working through another person acting out of a misguided desire of their heart.

I also believe God allows things so we become aware of our blessings. Other times, He uses them to strengthen us and help us gain wisdom in how to handle our lives. Many times, God uses hardship to draw us closer to Him through prayer and the process of healing or searching for answers.

In life, we have greater questions we may never understand. A friend of mine lost her daughter; the next year her mother passed. This year, she is setting up hospice care for a brother who has been battling cancer.

How do you explain all that loss and heartache? Why her? Because that's the way it is, as my mother might say. The reality is, it's really God's secret.

Sometimes we can get understanding as to what God is doing in our lives. Other times, we have clear vision in hindsight. When the answers don't come in our way or time, and we don't understand what is happening, we need to trust in the one who does.

Trusting is what God wants us to do. He has the greater plan that we can't see or understand. One thing for sure, God loves us and desires to help us. By trusting Him, we enter the emotional rest from trying to figure it all out and find a place of peace and joy.

• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. Contact her by emailing Annetteebudzban@aol.com or call (847) 543-8413. Invite her to be your personal life coach.