Why Faith is Called a Mystery

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Despite 40 years of being a pastor, John Chadwick, 73, a retired Iowa minister, said that in the face of the pandemic, he feels that his faith no longer provides the answers he needs.

"I look at the virus, and I wonder," he says. "As a pastor, I always say, 'We need to trust God in all this.' And that's OK, to say that. But I gotta admit, for me, I wonder where God is, which is not great for a pastor. I realize that, but that's where I am today."

Chadwick was among people interviewed by National Public Radio (NPR), for a recent article found on its web site, about how the pandemic has affected their faith.

Age-Old Problem

Many can relate to Chadwick. God’s apparent absence, especially during times of stress, is an age-old problem for believers and non-believers. The author of Psalm 42, probably written 600 years before Christ, is among those for whom it was a problem.

“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me continually, ‘Where is your God?’”

These blogs have included many references to this problem, which can variously be expressed by questions such as “Why does God allow bad things to happen?” “Where is God when you need him/her?” “How can God be said to be in charge, and to be loving, if he/she is silent during crises?”

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For many, none of the standard answers to these questions are satisfactory. Among these answers is that God created the universe in complete freedom – for humans and for the natural world – and the only guarantee is that he/she will be with us in sickness and health, good times and bad.

And Christians have a particular reason to be hopeful because we believe God became one of us and experienced evil, natural and man-made, first-hand.

But the pandemic is testing our faith for sure, and no one can blame those who respond with doubt-filled questions. It has had a different effect on some, however.    

Mary McGrath, 26, who told NPR her church affiliation had been “slipping,” has reacted to the coronavirus shutdown in the opposite way, with a new yearning to return to the Catholic parish she left as a college student.

“Down at my foundation, faith has a strong role, one I've kind of repressed or disregarded," she said. "And I've realized that when you're especially alone, something I haven't really experienced before, it's something I would really like to be able to fall back on. I was very surprised to have that feeling just hit me. Like, 'Wow, I would really like to be in a pew right now, in a place that's bigger and holier than I am.'"

Subject to What Life Brings

I believe God can intervene, and has intervened, in human history – in a big way in his/her incarnation in Jesus. But for most of us who are searching for God, we are subject to whatever life brings most of the time.

There are good reasons for faith, which equips us to handle suffering, crises and even death, but many of our questions about God and how he/she “manages” things will fail to find satisfactory answers. That’s why faith is called a mystery.

But people who see meaning in life and those whose faith guides them have a leg-up in dealing with crises, I believe. We go on loving God and others as best we can, knowing that ultimately, God really is in charge.

We rely on the reliability of Paul’s words in his Letter to the Romans: “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him.”