Know Your Heart

March 22

Books have been written on the topic of why bad things happen to good people. It is an inexhaustible point to ponder—much like one of the most perplexing questions of antiquity, ‘How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?’ The answer to the question about dancing angels may be, ‘Who cares?’ but we do care deeply about the ‘Why?’ of human suffering.

We care because we truly do want to guard ourselves against unpleasant eventualities. We train well for employment in order to command a high salary. We have our eyes examined to assure clear vision and avoidance of accidents. Being prepared gives us an edge in every situation.

But all this circumvents the ‘Why?’ of those events that intrude into the lives of good people and evidence the reality that there was nothing they could have done differently to avoid them. The Bible has an answer that supersedes all others ever pondered, discussed or written on the topic.

Deuteronomy 13:3 says, “The Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul.” It seems that He who knows all things, including the heart of every man, wants every man to know his own heart.