Fifteen-year-old Claudia is watching her parents' marriage fall apart and asking her praying mother, "Why is God letting this happen to our family?" An ocean away, as illness shatters the life of a devout twenty-six-year-old woman, she says she wants to learn "God's lesson" in the experience.

Troubles in this world seem to be multiplying daily. Hurt, we all cry out to God and yearn for understanding. "Why?" we ask, again and again.

Of course, we cannot fully understand. As a child cannot understand a man, Augustine said, so a man cannot understand God. "As the heavens are higher than the earth," Isaiah said, so are his ways and thoughts higher than ours. And who wants a small God, anyway? He is beyond us.

But we need to know God and, thanks be to God, we can. The cry of "why" leads to a "who." When Philip asked, "Lord, show us the Father," Jesus said, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." That's the answer I need. Frankly, if not for Jesus, I would often be tempted to suspect God does not care about my pain. But this is the key: we must look at Jesus to understand God.

The disciples once found themselves at the mercy of a fierce storm and cried out to Jesus, "Lord, save us! Don't you see what we are going through? Don't you care?" Jesus answered, "Where is your faith?" and calmed the winds and waves with a simple rebuke, "Quiet! Be still!"

What Jesus did then spoke volumes. The Father can step in and calm storms whenever he wants to.

But what did Jesus mean by what he said?

Clearly he did not mean that if you have faith you will always be healthy and safe. Almost everyone with him in that boat that day died an early death as a martyr. Jesus taught that to stay with him meant being ready to die. Following Jesus is not safe - at least not in that sense.

Our experience tells us Jesus did not mean God calms life's storms whenever we ask him to. Nor did Jesus mean that all storms and suffering come because we don't have faith. Finding yourself in a storm doesn't mean you are spiritually inadequate.

I think Jesus simply meant, "If you trust me and stay with me, you will be okay. I will take care of you. The Father is stronger than anything that can come against you. Don't let your pain or fears drive you away from me. Let them drive you to me. You may suffer. You may die. But you will be okay if you are with me."

Jesus will protect us - but he may not always protect our lives, our health or our plans. His vision is beyond this life.

We know from watching Jesus that God grieves with the brokenhearted. He says, "I see what you are going through. Trust me and I will get you through this storm."
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