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Have you ever lamented, “Why me, Lord?” Sure, we all have. “I’m suffering; why me, Lord?” Or the contrasting, “I survived the accident that caused others to suffer; why me, Lord?”
Well, have you ever said, “Why not me, Lord?”
Usually, the “why me” questions come from low self esteem. Often it’s rooted in the false belief that God actually wants “me” to suffer. We feel deserving of punishment, so therefore our pain feels like punishment, and on some level we know God’s got to be better (holier, more loving) than this and thus should be kinder toward us. Now feeling confused, we cry out, “Why me?”
Alternatively, “I survived, I’m not suffering like others; why me?” can be rooted in the false belief that God is treating us better than others and we don’t deserve this special treatment. I really loathe the old cliché that says, “There but for the grace of God go I.” As if God denied his grace to the “there but” others! Knowing that God “lets the rain fall on both the good and the bad” (i.e., he blesses everyone whether they deserve it or not), we instinctively resist the idea that he treats us better than others. Combine that with low self esteem, and we’re certain we’re not worthy of being blessed when others are not so blessed.
I have heard people say: “Why would God grant the miracle I need when there are so many other faith-filled people not getting the miracles they need?”
And…
Why would God help my search for a better job when that guy I know from church has had no job for a long time, has more children to feed, and has been walking in faith faithfully, praying constantly to get a job?
Why would God bless me with wealth when there are so many good people who are poor? It feels wrong to ask for an abundance. What Jesus said in John 10:10 is not supposed to be interpreted as material abundance.
The problem with all these questions and their root causes is that they assume we understand God’s mind and know what he’s thinking and why he does what he does.
We don’t have a clue, really, and that’s okay! We will never see the full picture, let alone understand it, until we’ve died and gone to the throne of God where we can ask him point blank and hear him without brains that are limited to the space within our skulls. And even then his answer is likely to be, “Why not you?”, but now in our new level of holiness we will be satisfied with that.
So let’s already stop asking “Why me?” and focus on “Why not me?” See what new angles of thought that opens up!
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© 2002 by Terry A. Modica
