Worthy, O Master! Yes, our God! Take the glory! The honor! The power! You created it all. It was created because you wanted it. Rev 4:11 (The Message)

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a sticky situation and you had no idea how you got there? Things just seemed to keep happening faster and faster and it was all you could do to keep your head above water, your feet treading frantically. When the situation finally settles down where you can take a deep breath, the first thing that comes to your mind is, “Why did this happen? What possible good can come out of it?”

There are so many questions that run through our minds during our lives. Questions like, “Why did they have to stop making my favorite tomato sauce?” or “I’ve been taking this medicine for ages! Why did they now decide that it’s causing harm?” The questions run the gamut from the trivial to the heart-wrenching, “Why did this person have to die – and why did it have to be like this?” Some of the hardest questions begin with, “Why?”

For the most part, we’re content to figure that things happen because of circumstances, the “roll of the dice,” or “that’s just how things go!” But for the big questions, we get the feeling that someone is in charge of what happens down here on earth and there surely has to be a reason why things happen. It would be nice to get a note to let us know why things happen but somehow the notes never seem to reach us.

There is a saying that is often used when a person is trying to unscrew hoses from the house when snow is predicted. “Lefty loosy, righty tighty.” Theoretically, when you turn the hose to the left, it will loosen up and you can separate it from the house faucet. In order to reconnect the hose, you turn it to the right. When I first heard this saying, I decided to give it a try. I turned the hose and turned the hose, and it didn’t want to go on the faucet. I pondered on it and kept working on it – until I discovered that I was supposed to be turning it to my right. I was looking at it from the faucet’s perspective and it wasn’t connecting. As soon as I tried turning it from my perspective, the hose immediately became attached. Sometimes that’s how answers come to us – when we shift our perspective.

This scripture is from the place in Revelations when John first sees Heaven. It is indescribably magnificent and all the creatures surrounding the throne of God are worshipping Him and giving Him glory. This is how I think it will be when we finally get the answers to all those questions that we’ve been wrestling with for so long. It will finally all make sense. May that day come soon!

Becky Gillette is a former teacher, newspaper reporter, and preacher who seeks to take an original approach to life’s lessons. She is the author of “Jessie’s Corner: Something to Think About,” a collection of articles which she wrote for a weekly newspaper.