“David, where are you going?” To the wilderness. “Why?” Saul is trying to kill me! “Why?” I don’t know—it does not make sense to me! “How long will you be gone?” I don’t know! “Where will you stay?” I don’t know! “Will you be okay?” Surely—I am going to the wilderness; I am not leaving God. God is there, too, you know.

“Why do you look so confused, Habakkuk?” I am trying to figure out what God is doing! “What is going on?” God constantly gives me visions of horrible destruction on His people! “Ah, I understand!” I doubt it! He will use the fierce, arrogant, wicked Babylonians to destroy Judah. How can God use a people more wicked than Judah to destroy Judah. Judah surely are not angels, but they are not as evil as the Babylonians. Sorry; I must go—I have to figure this out!

“Why are you so despondent, Jesus?” I am on my way to my execution. “If you know where you are going, why go?” God wants me to go. “Aren’t your desires bigger than God’s will?” No! “Why?” Simple—God’s purposes are significantly greater than my desires. My desires focus on now. God’s purposes focus on forever as He wars against evil. My body and mind scream ‘don’t die,’ but my understanding realizes God’s purposes are bigger than me.

“Where are you going, Paul?” I am going to my beating, or my shipwreck, or my stoning, or to my next dangerous journey, or my next personal struggle—take your pick. “Paul, why knowingly have any of those experiences?” Simple—I understand what God did for me in Jesus Christ. God’s gift and Jesus’ sacrifice far exceed my discomfort. Besides, everyone needs to know what God did for him or her in Jesus!

Where are you going? You don’t know? You don’t even understand why? You struggle to grasp the ‘eternal’ is bigger than the ‘now’—especially when ‘now’ seems real and the ‘eternal’ seems artificial? Don’t be distressed by your confusion or your struggle! Why? For two reasons: (1) You are in good company; (2) God is there as surely as He is here.

Psalms 139:7-12 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,” even darkness is not dark to You, and night is bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.