When the Answer Never Comes

When you know the Answer, you can live faithfully even when you don't have every answer.

In 2024, my dad called.

“I’m ready to talk about the past.”

I had waited years to hear those words—nearly 15 years of faithfully pursuing him.

A few years earlier, after my wife and I had children, we sat together at Applebee’s. I prayed with him and gently asked about the past because I needed wisdom to protect my daughters. He denied everything.

I left still loving him.

Still forgiving him.

But without the clarity I needed to bring my girls into a relationship with him.

So I kept the boundary in place.

I continued calling him. We continued talking. I continued praying for him.

Then came the phone call.

“I’m ready.”

Finally, I thought.

Finally, the answers I’d been praying for.

And then before we ever sat down together, God took him home.

If you’ve ever prayed for something that never came, you know that feeling.

A relationship that wasn’t restored.

A diagnosis that didn’t change.

A loved one who passed away too soon.

A question that echoes through your mind for years.

What do you do when the answer never comes?

Years before my dad passed away, God had already begun preparing me for that moment.

When I was fourteen years old, on the verge of ending it all, Jesus changed my life.

Through His grace, He gave me the strength to forgive the people who had hurt me—including my dad.

When I turned eighteen, I picked up the phone.

I called him.

Not because everything had been resolved.

But because Christ had forgiven me.

Over the next fifteen years, we built a relationship.

Looking back now, I realize God had already answered the question that mattered most.

“James, will you forgive as I have forgiven you?”

By His grace, I said yes.

Everything after that became an unanswered question.

I didn’t have every answer.

But I had enough light for my next faithful step.

The Christian life isn’t built on having every explanation. It’s built on knowing the One who holds every explanation.

Scripture never promises that we’ll understand everything God does. It does promise that He will never leave nor forsake His children (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5).

Jesus didn’t simply come to answer our questions.

He came to bring us into relationship with the Father.

“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” — John 17:3

Like a small child walking through a dark forest holding his father’s hand, our confidence isn’t found in knowing every turn in the path. It’s found in knowing the Father who is leading us.

That’s why trust grows over time.

As you spend time with Jesus, your roots grow deeper.

Your identity becomes steadier because you remember whose you are.

Your purpose becomes clearer because it was never ultimately tied to a career, a season of life, or an outcome. Your purpose is to know Christ, become more like Christ, and help others know Him too.

Then obedience slowly changes from duty into delight.

Not because every question has been answered.

But because you’ve come to trust the One you’re following.

I learned this lesson even earlier.

When I was nine years old, a falling tree branch took my mom’s life.

For sixteen years I asked one question.

Why a tree branch?

God never gave me the explanation I wanted.

Instead, He gave me Himself.

Then one morning, while reading about Enoch, I came across these simple words:

“Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” (Genesis 5:24)

In that moment, an overwhelming peace settled over me.

It was as though the Lord gently whispered,

“James... I took your mom.”

He didn’t answer my question.

He reminded me who He is.

Someone once shared a perspective with me that I’ve never forgotten.

“Maybe God didn’t call you to pursue your father because you would eventually receive every answer. Maybe He called you to pursue him faithfully so your dad could experience the love of his heavenly Father through you.”

I don’t know if that’s exactly what God was doing.

Scripture doesn’t give me permission to say with certainty.

But I do know this:

God uses faithful obedience, even when we cannot see the outcome.

I never received the conversation I’d hoped to have with my dad.

I still grieve that.

But because I’ve spent years learning to know my heavenly Father, I can trust Him with the conversations I’ll never have on this side of eternity.

One day, by God’s grace through faith in Christ, I believe I’ll embrace my earthly father again.

But what I’m looking forward to even more is seeing the Father who never stopped pursuing me.

The Father who was with me when a tree branch fell.

The Father who walked beside me through years of unanswered questions.

The Father who taught me that His greatest gift wasn’t an explanation.

It was His presence.

Because eternal life isn’t ultimately receiving every answer.

It’s knowing Him.

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Never Finished Challenge

What’s the question you’ve been asking God?

Maybe it’s Why?

Maybe it’s When?

Maybe it’s Will You ever...?

Keep asking.

Jesus invites us to ask, seek, and knock.

But don’t let your pursuit of an answer become greater than your pursuit of the Answer.

Tomorrow morning, before you check your phone...

Before you consume the news...

Before your questions consume you...

Have Jesus for breakfast.

Open His Word.

Sit quietly in His presence.

Before you search for another explanation, sit with the One who calls Himself the Truth.

You may not receive every answer you’ve been praying for.

But if you know Him, you’ll have everything you need to take your next faithful step.

Because the greatest gift God gives His children isn’t an explanation.

It’s Himself.

Never Finished.

Jesus for Breakfast

by Never Finished Ministries

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