When Trust Is All You Have Left

Ben-hadad, king of Syria, lay gravely ill. Fearing death, he sent his most trusted official, Hazael, to Elisha—the man of God—with a single question: Will I recover? Elisha’s response was unsettlingly complex. He told Hazael to assure the king of recovery, yet in the same breath revealed a darker truth—the king would, in fact, die. Then Elisha did something no one expected: he wept.

Why would a prophet of God break down in tears over the fate of an enemy king?

The answer unfolds with terrifying clarity.

II Kings 8:12–15 records the moment:

“And Hazael said, ‘Why does my lord weep?’ He answered, ‘Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel…’”

Elisha saw beyond the present moment. God had shown him the future—burned fortresses, slaughtered young men, infants dashed to pieces, pregnant women ripped open. When Hazael protested, dismissing such atrocities as unthinkable for someone “who is but a dog,” Elisha delivered the final revelation: You will be king of Syria.

The next day, Hazael returned to Ben-hadad and reported only half the truth—“You will recover.” Then he murdered him, quietly and efficiently, and seized the throne.

As I read this account, I’ll be honest with you—it deeply disturbed me. I spent time wrestling with God over it. God knew exactly what Hazael would do. He knew about the betrayal, the bloodshed, the horrors inflicted on Israel. He knew—and He did not stop it.

It brought to mind the Holocaust. The same haunting question rose in my heart: How could God know such evil was coming and allow it to happen?

If you are expecting me to now unveil a neat, profound answer—don’t. I don’t have one. Even as I write this, the story still troubles me. But in prayer, God did seem to respond—not with an explanation, but with a question:

“Alan, do you have to understand why I allowed this? Is it necessary for you to understand everything I do in order to fully trust Me?”

That question stopped me cold. Sit with it for a moment.

I don’t know about you, but I have questioned God many times about why He allowed certain things into my life—things I didn’t want, didn’t choose, and couldn’t fix. And more often than not, His response was essentially this: The answer is on a need-to-know basis—and you don’t need to know.

So here I am—sometimes stuck in circumstances I dislike, didn’t ask for, that are painful and confusing. Often, I don’t know why I’m in them, and sometimes I don’t even know if or when I’ll get out of them. That leaves me with only what I know for certain:

• God loves me and gave His Son to save me (John 3:16).
• He will never allow me to be tempted beyond what I can bear and will always provide a way through (I Corinthians 10:13).
• He will direct my life if I trust Him completely (Proverbs 3:5–6).
• Jesus promises rest when I bring Him my burdens (Matthew 11:28–30).
• If I seek God’s kingdom and righteousness first, He will supply what I need (Matthew 6:33).

There are countless other promises you could add to that list.

Friends, God never promises to explain life to us. He never guarantees answers to every why. But He does ask something far more searching: Even when you don’t have the answers—will you trust Me?

Hebrews 11 makes it clear: God delights in faith like that.

Will you trust Him?