Few sayings are repeated more often—or with better intentions—than this one: “Everything happens for a reason.”
It kinda sounds biblical. However, in certain situations, such as when there has been a death or a medical diagnosis, it comes across as irritating at best. However, in such circumstances, it can also turn us, or others, away from God. At other times, though, it can be comforting. It affirms that our lives are more than a collection of random coincidences.
The problem is that the Bible never actually says it.
Perhaps we believe it because we are meaning-making creatures. One of the first words we learn is, “Why?” We don’t like uncertainty or loose ends. We want to know, we want explanations, we want reasons.
If I don’t get the job, there must be a reason. If the trip is canceled, there must be a reason. If I can’t find a parking spot at the store, perhaps the Lord is telling me not to shop today.
Sometimes that may be true. Scripture is full of moments when God clearly opens doors and closes them. But not every inconvenience is divine messaging, and not every event carries a hidden explanation waiting to be discovered.
Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is “a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Seasons come and go. Some are joyful, and some are painful. Some make sense, while others happen, and there’s no sense to make of them.
The Teacher in Ecclesiastes spends very little time trying to explain why things happen and much more time teaching us how to live faithfully within them.
Perhaps our calling is not to search for a reason behind every event that happens in our lives, but to place our trust in the One who walks with us through them all.
The promise of Scripture isn’t that we will always understand the story while we’re living it. The promise is that God is good.
Sometimes, years later, we can look back and see how God used a disappointment, a delay, or a detour in ways we never expected. But often we can’t, because some things just … happen.
But faith has never rested, and should never rest, on our ability to connect all the dots. It rests on God’s faithfulness.
And, then again, maybe the message behind the inability to find a good parking space at the store was that God wanted you to park further away and walk … because you needed the exercise.
Just a thought to ponder.
Prayer: Lord, when I search for explanations, teach me to trust in your character more than my conclusions. Give me wisdom to recognize your leading, patience to live with unanswered questions, and confidence that your goodness doesn’t depend on my understanding. Help me walk faithfully through every season, trusting that you are with me in them all. Amen.
