Making Peace with the Unexplained
Carrying an unanswered "why" that still haunts you? In this milestone 200th episode, discover how to make peace with the unexplained by leaning into God's proven character when life simply doesn't make sense.
Carrying an unanswered "why" that still haunts you? In this milestone 200th episode, discover how to make peace with the unexplained by leaning into God's proven character when life simply doesn't make sense.
Have you ever reached a point where you simply couldn't make sense of what God was allowing in your life?
We love neat resolutions. We want formulas that work, prayers that produce the outcomes we expect, and a faith that wraps up every loose end. But life in a fallen world is full of broken reality, sudden illnesses, senseless tragedies, and chapters that defy logic. We want the "Why?" answered. And when it isn't, we feel stuck, confused, and sometimes angry at the God we thought we understood.
In this special 200th episode, we explore the story of Laura Story, a worship leader whose life fell apart shortly after her wedding when her husband Martin was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The surgery saved his life, but the damage permanently changed everything. The future she had imagined simply disappeared. And like anyone facing that kind of moment, Laura found herself asking, "God… why?" The answer never came the way she hoped. But what she discovered instead was something she wouldn't trade: a deeper, more anchored trust in the character of God. Out of that season came the beloved song "Blessings," reflecting the hard-won lesson that sometimes the moments that confuse us most are the ones where God is quietly shaping our faith the deepest.
Through her story and the challenging wisdom of Proverbs 20:24, you'll see that real faith doesn't require understanding everything along the way. It requires trusting the One who directs your steps, even when those steps make no sense to you.
BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU'LL DISCOVER:
- Why demanding an explanation from God before you'll trust Him again keeps you spiritually stuck
- How Proverbs 20:24 frees you from the exhausting need to understand everything along the way
- A practical way to release one unanswered "why" to God and lean into His proven character instead
You may never get the explanation you're looking for this side of heaven. But you can make peace with the unexplained by resting in the One whose character has never changed.
This is Episode 200! Thank you for being part of this journey. If these devotions have made a difference in your life, I'd love to hear your story. Email me at bart@dailydevotionsforbusylives.com and let me know how God has used this time in your life. Your story matters to me.
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Not long after Laura Story married the man she loved,
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the future they had imagined together suddenly fell apart.
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Like most newly married couples, Laura and her husband Martin had
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plans. Plans for careers in ministry, plans for the life
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they were going to build together. But just a short time
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after their wedding, Martin began having strange symptoms.
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He began having headaches, confusion, and things didn't
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seem quite right. Doctors eventually discovered the cause:
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a brain tumor. The surgery saved his life, but the damage left
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behind permanently changed everything. Martin would never
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return to the career he once had, and the life Laura had imagined
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for their family disappeared. And like anyone facing a moment
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like that, Laura found herself asking the question we all ask
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when life stops making sense: God, why?
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Welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm Bart Leger. And
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before we get into today's devotion, I want to pause and
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mark a milestone. This is episode 200. 200 episodes of
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opening God's Word together and finding encouragement for the
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day ahead. I'm so grateful that you've chosen to spend a few
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minutes of your busy life with me, and with God's truth. It
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really is an absolute honor. And I'd love to hear from you. If
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these devotions have made a difference in your life, would
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you take a moment and let me know? You can email me at
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bart@dailydevotionsforbusylives.com And tell me your story. Tell me
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which episode spoke to you. Tell me how God has used this time in
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your life. Those messages mean more to me than you know. Now
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let's get into today's episode. We're talking about a struggle
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that touches every single one of us at some point. Making peace
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with the things in life that simply don't make sense. As
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humans, we love neat resolutions. We want foolproof formulas with
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no loose ends. But life in a fallen world is full of broken
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reality. Sudden illnesses and tragedies that defy logic. We
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want the "why" answered. At some point, real faith requires us to
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stop demanding an explanation and start leaning into the
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proven character of God until the day all things are made
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right. Proverbs 20: 24 says,
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So why try to understand everything along the way? That
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verse is both comforting and challenging. It's comforting
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because it confirms that God is directing your steps. You're not
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wandering aimlessly through a random universe. There is a
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sovereign hand guiding your life. But it also challenges our
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obsession with understanding everything. Why try to
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understand everything along the way? That's what Solomon's
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essentially saying. You weren't designed to have all the answers.
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You were designed to trust the one who does. And we hate that.
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We want explanations. When tragedy strikes, the very first
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word out of our mouths is often: Why? Why did the child get sick?
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Why did the marriage end? Why did the good person die young?
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Why did the business fail after years of faithfulness? Why did
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God allow this? And those are honest questions. And God is not
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offended by them. The Psalms are full of "why Lord" prayers.
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Jesus himself cried out, "My God! My God! Why have you forsaken
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me?" What do you want to do? Asking why isn't necessarily a
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lack of faith. But demanding an answer before you'll trust God
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again is. Here's the reality: God's life. You can think of
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things going to be out of this side of heaven. You can drive
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yourself crazy trying to reverse engineer God's purposes. Or you
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can make peace with the unexplained and choose to lean
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into what you do know about God's character. You know He's
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good even when your circumstances are not. You know
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He's sovereign even when life feels chaotic. You know He's
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faithful even when the outcome isn't what you prayed for. You
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know He loves you even when His decisions are painful and
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confusing. Making peace with the unexplained doesn't mean you
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stop caring. And it doesn't mean you stuff your emotions or
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pretend the pain isn't real. It means you reach a point where
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Lord, I don't understand this. And I may never
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understand this. But I trust you. I trust your character more than
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I trust my need for answers. That's what Job eventually came
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to. After chapters and chapters of asking why, God never gave
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him a direct answer. Instead, God revealed Himself. And in the
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presence of who God is, Job found something more satisfying
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than an explanation. He found God Himself. Laura's story
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eventually realized that. And it was so freeing. The question she
kept asking:
"Why would God allow this?" was a question she
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might never have fully answered in this life. So instead of
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demanding an explanation, she began leaning into something
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the character of God. Out of that season came a song many
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people around the world now know as "Blessings." The lyrics
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reflect the lessons she learned the hard way. That sometimes the
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moments that confuse the most are the ones where God is
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quietly shaping our faith the deepest.
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Life rarely unfolds the way we plan it. Martin's condition
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didn't reverse.
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The life she imagined didn't come back.
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A deeper, more honest, more anchored relationship with God.
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Maybe there's a "why" in your life that has never been
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answered and probably won't be this side of heaven.
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Here's today's challenge.
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You don't have to pretend it doesn't hurt.
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"Lord, I don't understand this. It still hurts, but I choose to
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trust
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I choose to trust who You are more than I trust my need for
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answers. You are good. And You're sovereign and You're
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faithful. That's enough for me today." Lord, some of us are
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carrying questions that have no earthly answers. "The pain is
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real, and we want to understand, and sometimes the silence feels
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unbearable. But we choose today to trust Your character over our
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need for explanations. You are good when life isn't. You are
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faithful when outcomes disappoint us. And You are
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sovereign when nothing makes sense. Help us to make peace
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with the unexplained and to rest in who You are. In Jesus' name,
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amen." If this episode encouraged you, would you share
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it with someone who is wrestling with an unanswered why? Just
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send them the link from the show notes. They may need this
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reminder that trusting God doesn't require understanding
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everything. And once again, this is episode 200. Thank you for
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being a part of this journey. I'd love to hear how God has
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used these devotions in your life. Email me at
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bart@dailydevotionsforbusylives.com Your story really does matter
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to me. Thanks for joining me on Daily Devotions For Busy Lives.
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Remember, the Lord directs your steps so you don't have to
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understand everything along the way. Come back next time for
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more encouragement to help you live grounded in God's truth.
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Until then, God bless, and have a great day.
