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What is the word, that if we knew its answer, would make us know as much as God?  What is the word that righteous souls who believe in God and in God’s government of the world have spoken as they looked out over the world and saw the reign of injustice and wickedness?  What is the word that believing and afflicted souls have pronounced when God’s hand lay heavy upon them? What is the word that mothers have spoken over the lifeless bodies of their children?  What is the word that Gideon spoke when he saw Israel devastated by the Midianites?  What is the word that Job spoke when he was stripped of his possessions, his wealth, his health and was left desolate?
That word is “why”.  The word why is a symbol of the unknown and unknowable.  It is the cry of the human heart when calamity strikes.  It is associated with why me and why now.  The word is often asked of people who are in despair and who feel powerless in the face of difficult circumstances.  The word was asked by Gideon and also by Job.  Let’s consider each of their circumstances and see if we can discover the answer to this haunting question.

Gideon’s Why?
In Judges 6:11-13, a verbal exchange takes place between an angel of the Lord and Gideon.  “And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Oprah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon thrashed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, whey then is all this befallen us?  and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”  Israel was oppressed by the Midianites.  They raided the crops every year and so none dared to thresh his grain openly.  In a hidden glen under the oak of Oprah, Gideon was secretly threshing out the grain of his father’s farm.  An angel stood by him and said, “The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.”  Gideon’s response indicated his keen sense that God had abandoned them and left them in despair.  He felt that God had forsaken His people.  However, on Gideon’s father’s farm, there was an altar to Baal– a clear indication of apostasy in Israel and even in Gideon’s own house.  God’s people had forsaken Him!  God is not to blame for Israel’s problems.  When Gideon asked, why?, he failed to see his own culpability.  Sin separates us from God.  The worship of Baal was prominent in Israel.  The sense that God had forsaken Israel was strong, but God was still where He always is and His power was the same as at anytime in Israel’s past.  The problem was not God.  The problem was sin in the hearts of the people.  Still, the question, why? remains.  The human soul often cries out why? The question probes what is unknown to us.  God does not answer the question.  He commissions Gideon.  God’s answer to Gideon is a command to action–a test of faith.  When faith in God is restored, then, God will fight for His people.  God told Gideon to destroy his father’s altar to Baal and build an altar to the LORD God.  Gideon did this proving his faith in God.  Then, God used Gideon to destroy the Midianites–120,000 of them (Judges 8:10).  This victory manifested God’s presence and power among His people.  Gideon’s question, “why then is all of this befallen us?” is answered.  God has not abandoned them, but they had abandoned God.  But, when faith in God is restored and the sin barrier removed, God will fight for His people and victory is assured.

Job’s Why?
In Job 3:11, Job says, “Why died I not from the womb?” Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of my mother’s belly?  Job is an eternal symbol of the mystery of human life.  Job was a man of Uz who feared God  and lived an upright and righteous life.  He had seven sons and three daughters.  His substance was great–seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred donkeys. Job was a great man.  He was blessed.
Job was put to a severe test of his faith in God.  Satan believed that Job served God because God had blessed Job so abundantly.  Satan reasoned that if all this prosperity were taken away from Job that he would turn away from God.  Swift calamities befell Job.  The Sabeans drove off his livestock.  His servants were slain with the sword.  Fire fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the shepherds watching them.  The Chaldeans drove of the camels and slew their drivers with the sword.  A whirlwind struck Job’s eldest son’s house and killed all of his children and their families.  In a single day, Job lost his possessions and his family.  Job’s response was, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb and naked shall I return thither.  The LORD gave, the LORD taketh away, blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Another test came.  Satan believed that if Job was afflicted personally, he would turn away from God.  “Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life” (Job 2:4).  God permitted Satan to afflict Job but restricted him from taking Job’s life.  Job’s body was covered with boils from head to toe.  Job’s wife told him to, “curse God and die.”  Job said, “What? shall receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil?  Job maintained his integrity.  Job’s three friends come to visit him–Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.  They sat in silence for seven days.  Then, Job lamented the day he was born.  “Why died I not from the womb?” (Job 3:11).  Job’s three friends could not answer the why?  Neither Elihu nor Job could answer the question why.  Then, God speaks to Job and God does not directly answer the question why.  But, God does affirm His sovereignty.  God extolled His glory and asked Job a series of questions Job could not answer.  The answer to Job’s why was twofold.  There is a sovereign God and He is worthy of our trust no matter how difficult the circumstances of life may be.  God’s promise to us is: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”  God will never fail nor forsake His beloved people.  In the end, the mercy and grace of God was shown to Job and all of his possessions and his family were restored (James 5:11).

Our Why?
We may find ourselves in difficult circumstances that test our faith in God.  This world is a vale of soul-making.  God is working and satan is working.  God works to help us develop the qualities that will glorify Him.  Satan works to bring us to condemnation before God.  Every test must be met with faith in God!  God will never forsake those who love Him and are committed to His Will.  Let us permit God to be God and let us put our trust in Him in all things.  We may not know the answer to every why question.  But, we can answer every why question with faith in God: “I will trust in Him!”

The Fall of the year brings a new season for football.  People are excited to see their favorite team play and compete to be number one.  Teams are formed through a selection process involving potential players and coaches.  The best players are actively recruited by coaches.  Why?  Coaches want to win and they know that they can win if they have the best players on their team.  The best players generally choose teams with winning records.  How many really good football players do you know who want to play for losing teams?  How many good players want to be losers?  I don’t know of any.
Broaden the concept to include the “game of life.”  How many people do you know who strive to be unsuccessful in life?  If someone said, “My goal in life is to fail at everything I do,” we would be shocked.  Yet, many people have spiritual aims that will lead them to fail spiritually.  They have teamed up with satan to be on the losing team.
Satan has been:  judged, defeated, brought to ruin, and resigned to the lake of fire.  If you join up with him, you will lose your soul and be eternally separated from God.
Satan Has Been Judged
God knows that satan is real and has revealed such in His Holy Word (Gen. 3, Job 1, Matt. 4 (Jesus’ own encounter with satan).  In John 16:7-1, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to His disciples.  The Holy Spirit would: (1) Be involved in a teaching ministry, John 14:26); (2) Be involved in a reminding ministry, John 16:26; (3) Be involved in a testifying ministry, John 14:26; (4) Be involved in a convicting ministry, John 16:8; (5) Be involved in a convincing ministry, John 16:8,10; and (6) Be involved in a judging ministry, John 16:11.  “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will. not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.  And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”  Satan is the prince of this world.  He is the master deceiver.  But, the truth revealed by the Holy Spirit will counter every lie and provide the means of setting people free from the servitude to sin (John 8:32).   Truth provides the righteous standard for all judgment by God.  The Word of God is truth (John 17:17). Judgment is God’s justice administered to each person and is based upon their words and works and how they compare to His righteous standard.  The judgment of God against satan is utter condemnation.
Satan Has Been Defeated
Jesus declared in John 12:31, “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” When Jesus died upon the cross, He provided the means of removing the sting of death which is sin.  He provides for atonement for sin thereby making it possible for sin to be forgiven.  This effectively overcomes the power of sin (Heb. 2:14).  Jesus destroys him who had the power of death.  Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion.  He conquers both sin and death.  He destroys him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.  Satan cannot win over the power of God.  Christians are more than conquerors through Him that loved us (Rom. 8:37).  With God on our side, we cannot lose.
Satan Has Been Brought To Ruin
In I John 3:8, we read, “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.  For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”  Those who sin join satan’s team.  However, satan’s works have been brought to ruin.  His works, such as temptations through lies, have been exposed through the example, teaching and the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.  Those who name the name of Christ and depart from iniquity enter into oneness with Christ and will succeed in obtaining the crown of righteousness.
Satan Has Been Resigned to the Lake of Fire
In Rev. 20:10, the sacred text says, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”  The lake of fire and brimstone is another description for hell.  Satan’s destiny is an eternal hell.  In Rev. 20:15 we find out the fate of those who team up with satan, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”  Those who team up with satan will be punished eternally along with him.  Why would anyone team up with satan only to join a losing team and be utterly damned to an eternal hell?  Don’t join a losing team!