Brain Injury 101: WHY, Lord, Why?
Your loved one has been injured, and now, you are both dealing with it as best you know how. With this burden, your faith has waxed and waned like the cycles of the moon. “Why did this have to happen to us?” you ask.
Let’s travel to the past.
I’d like us to take a journey back to the land of Judah – Israel in days of old. There was a prophet by the name of Habakuk. He had a burden. It had been revealed to him by the Lord God Almighty that the kingdom in which he lived, Judah, would be invaded by a ruthless, marauding army. “Why does this have to happen to us?”
I know, I know. You’re asking me, “What does this has to do with traumatic brain injuries?” Bear with me. It is a tale worth telling and hearing.
How Long, O LORD?
The prophet cries out in Habakuk, Chapter 1, “How long, O LORD, will I call for help, and You will not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save.” (“Why does this have to happen to us?”)
I would say he was rather bold in talking to the LORD God of the Universe this way, wouldn’t you? But think about it. Haven’t we cried out to the LORD this very way, either on behalf of our loved one or for ourselves and our given situation? (“Why did this have to happen to us?”) How many people currently, not dealing with brain injuries, are calling out because times are dark? Yet, Habakuk was bold enough to do so.
Healthy reverence
Habakuk had “fear”. Not the kind that paralyzes people, but rather “healthy reverence or respect.” He states later in the chapter, “Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; and You, O Rock, have established them to correct.” The “them” was the Babylonian army, that would invade Judah, take many captives and leave the city of Jerusalem in ruins.
Do you have that sort of awe and reverence for the LORD? The kind that in your desperation, you can ask “why?” (“Why did this have to happen to us?”)
We may not hear what we want to hear
In our bold questions, with our fragile faith, we may not always want to hear the answer to our “why” questions. I suspect that in a state of weakened faith, you may quit asking, quit praying and almost turn your back on the LORD. It’s hard, I’ve been there, and at times, I still am.
Let’s get back to Habakuk.
Habakuk didn’t like the fact his city and nation were going to be invaded. Yet, he also knew he couldn’t stop it. However, he could watch. So, he became a watchman on the wall; calling out to the people who were doing evil in the sight of God. He also watched for and remembered the LORD; he remembered “the LORD is in His Holy Temple and let all the earth be silent before Him.” Habakuk 2: 20 NASB.
The LORD reveals the vision to him for the future yet to happen. It is not a pretty sight. Yet, as he watches and listens to the LORD, he hears, “For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not delay. Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.” Habakuk 2:3-4 NASB (emphasis mine).
The righteous will live by his faith
Do you see it? The righteous will live by faith. Faith in the LORD. Faith that even though something bad has happened, He will grant you mercy, grace and strength to deal with it, if only you seek Him.
In Chapter three of Habakuk, he sings a song, a prayer of sorts. He laments what he knows will come to pass, yet in all this, he ends his prayer this way: “Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hind’s feet, and makes me walk on my high places.” Habakuk 3:18-19 NASB.
The prophet was not rejoicing in the evil that was to happen. He was rejoicing in the One Who was his salvation, the One Who was his strength.
Who, dear friend, is your strength?
