— By Pastor Mark Hiehle

First Church of the Nazarene



When little children are in the home, one question seems to always come up ? why?  There never seems to be an end to the kind of questions that begin with the word why.  Here are just a few questions children ask - Why do worms eat dirt?  Why is summer so hot?  Why do I have to wait?

Just for fun, here are some why questions that make you say, hum.  Why are there Interstate highways in Hawaii?  Why, when you transport something by car it is called a shipment, but when it is transported by ship it is called cargo?  Why do they call it a TV set when you only get one? And, why do they lock gas station bathrooms?  Are they afraid someone will break in and clean them?

Questions that ask why are common.  We all ask why at some point.  Why did something happen, why now, why me?  As I thought about the questions that ask why, I looked within the Bible and found that why is asked 502 times?  The majority, are people asking each other or God why.  There are about 25 times that God asks the question why.

The first time God asks someone why is in Genesis chapter 4.  Two brothers, Cain and Abel bring an offering before God.  Abel?s offering is accepted, but Cain?s is not.  Cain becomes angry, and so God asks him, Why are you angry?  Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?  But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.

As an act of worship, Cain and Abel were to bring a sacrifice as an offering before God.   Scripture says that Abel brought fat portions from the firstborn of his flock, but Cain brought some of the produce of the field.  Hebrews chapter 11 verse 4 tells us that Abel brought his offering by faith, and so it was accepted by God.  Abel gave God the best that he had, trusting that God would take care of him if he honored him first.  Cain did not make his offering by faith.  The concern of God was the motive of the heart.

The opposite of faith is fear.  When we do not believe that God will take care of us, or keep His promises, we think that our survival depends on us.  We worry, stress and become anxious over the future and possible scenarios.  We struggle over all the ?What ifs? and we become fearful of the unknown.  We tell ourselves that we must protect ourselves, and keep what we have for ourselves.  The truth is that God wants us to trust Him for our futures and rely upon Him for the unknown

Therefore, as we give our best to God, putting Him first by faith, He will accept our worship of Him and bless our faith and sacrifice.  By having faith in God and trusting His word, we will see God work in our lives and have a joy that comes from Him.  As the old hymn says, Trust and obey, for there?s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey.  



Pastor Mark Hiehle is the Senior Pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene at 1300 S. 29th St. in Chickasha, OK.   www.chickashanaz.com