Why God?

A series on the book of Hebrews:
God disciplines His children
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Hebrews 12:1-29 

[When you first start to follow Christ, often it’s done with great excitement. It’s like falling in love when all you can think about is the other person, and you want to tell everyone you know. But then the day-to-day pressures of living can push out those feelings and dull your enthusiasm. In this series, we will look at how the author of Hebrews tried to counteract falling out of love with Jesus.]

  

Have you ever cried out to God asking, “Why God?” One of the most painful times in my life occurred a few years after getting married. My wife was pregnant for our first child. We did everything we could to prepare for the new arrival.

 

We painted and wallpapered the nursery; bought a rocking chair for holding our baby while feeding; refinished the highchair I had used as a baby; assembled the crib; and had a baby shower. But then the unthinkable happened!

 

My wife went in for her regular prenatal checkup with our family doctor. When he wasn’t able to find a heartbeat, he immediately sent her to the hospital. They did an ultrasound, also not detecting a heartbeat. An OBGYN told us that our baby was still born! Why God! It wasn’t so much a question as it was a cry for help.

 

The Hebrews knew that feeling. They had given everything they had to follow Jesus. Made every sacrifice with the hope and expectation that he would return. They had suffered through persecution – but still nothing. It had gotten to the point where they were ready to reject Christ. “Why God”!

 

That’s when the anonymous writer of Hebrews stepped in. He wrote how Jesus was superior to their Jewish heritage, beliefs and traditions. In fact, he was the fulfillment of them. He reasoned with the Hebrews; he quoted Old Testament scripture; he warned them of consequences; he listed faithful followers.

 

Finally, in this chapter, he reminded them that God is like their earthly father who guided them through loving discipline. But, as their Heavenly Father, God’s goal was for them to draw closer to him and to grow in their faith.

 

¹⁰ For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.      NLT

 

However, not only was the Lord’s discipline for them to become holy and righteous, but also it was proof of his love.

 

⁵ “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,
    and don’t give up when he corrects you.
⁶ For the Lord disciplines those he loves,
    and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”            NLT

 

God is not only a disciplining parent who loves us, but also a demanding coach who pushes us. He pushes us to go beyond what we think we’re capable of; to go beyond our self-imposed boundaries; to go beyond our own self-centered interests. Ultimately, he wants us to go beyond ourselves to help others.

 

The writer instructed the Hebrews to live lives that would share the ‘joy of redemption’ and ‘hope for restoration’ with those around them; to be an example for others to follow; to help others work through their own pain and suffering.

 

¹⁴ Try to be at peace with everyone, and try to live a holy life, because no one will see the Lord without it.       GNT

 

Sometimes there are no easy answers when we cry out to God. But no matter what, we can know for sure that he loves us, is always with us and understands our pain. After all, his own son whom he loved cried out with the same question. “Why God”!

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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Come Coach Me Lord

The Lord is… my coach

A Series from the Psalms

Psalm 139

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20139&version=NIV;NLT

 

When I was in full time urban youth ministry, one of the roles I played was that of a boys’ basketball coach.

 

One particular game still sticks in my mind from forty years ago. It was a tight tournament game and one of my players, Terry, was at the free throw line. Because he was feeling the pressure of the moment, he missed his first shot.

 

Sometime during the season I had told the team a joke where the punch line was a number. Don’t worry, I didn’t quit my day job. When Terry stepped to the line for his second shot, I called out to him and said “Hey Terry… 12”. He laughed; turned to the basket; and calmly sank his free throw.

 

A coach has to know his players. He has to know what’s going on inside of them; what motivates them; when to push and when to joke. A coach teaches, leads, pulls and pushes a player to be the best they can be. A coach has to get inside the player’s head so that in a sense, he is with them all the time.

 

David thought of the Lord as if He was his coach.

 

¹ O Lord, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.

⁷ I can never escape from your Spirit!
    I can never get away from your presence!

¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.      NLT

 

The following prayer is David’s plea for the Lord to keep him accountable; to search his heart; to test him; to know his anxiety; to show him what is offensive and to lead him into what is good; in essence, to come coach him.

 

²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.   NIV

 

We would do well to pray the same prayer, “Come coach me Lord”.