Why Me?

When bad things happen to us, we can become obsessed with the thought, “Why me?” Nothing happens in our lives that God doesn’t allow to happen. He is not the author of evil, but he does allow evil to a certain extent. How you understand and relate to God will determine how you get through this. God also restrains evil, and that is why man hasn’t, I believe, blown himself yet with a nuclear bomb.

This touches on the issue of Theodicy or the problem of evil. Why does God allow evil? The short answer is that God has given us free will, and therefore, evil is possible this side of heaven. (see, The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis) However, there is redemption in Jesus Christ from evil within and completely in heaven.

If you see God as absolutely good, holy and perfectly loving as revealed in the Bible and by the Holy Spirit, it will make a huge difference. If we see God as Satan portrays him and relates to him, we will become angry and bitter. The point is, do you trust God and love him or not? Satan wants us to believe that God only wants to manipulate us, which is exactly what Satan wants to do.

We don’t know why God allows things. Some things are also a result of living in a corrupted world of sin that affects mankind genetically and otherwise. Thus, disease has come into our world through sin. Also, a lot of evil that comes upon us is our bad choices or not making the right choices.

For instance, I went riding my dirtbike without dirtbike boots and shin guards. I got to the top of a steep hill, and I could not make it, as the dirt was very loose. The bike all at once dug in and whipped to the side and tore my shin badly against the dirtbike peg. Did God cause this? No, it was all me.

The Bible says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). God can use all things that have occurred to enrich the lives of those Jesus calls according to his purpose. He can even use our past mistakes and sins to his glory if we can learn from them and in him. After all, the most important part of life is the spiritual and character formation in Christlikeness.

We can go through hardship, and it can add to our lives. It may save us from greater hardship up the road. It can also be used to enlarge our capacity to relate to God, as it did with Job in the Old Testament book of Job. Under the fire, we are purified and trusted with the blessings and power of God.

Job related to God for what he could get from him, and this was a predominant view and often is today. However, Job learned to know God intimately for himself. He adjusted his life to this knowledge and to God himself, and others can also learn from his life and experience.

In the Bible, Paul and Silas were thrown in jail for preaching the gospel, and while in jail they were praying and singing hymns, and the prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:25) The Apostle Paul wrote many of his letters to the church while in prison—Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians. He spent 3 terms in jail for two years each time. If Paul looked only at outward circumstances, he might have thought God had abandoned him. Instead, he trusted in God no matter the circumstances and remained true and continued to pray and draw close to God and minister to others.

I myself was in the hospital for five months. I had Hepatitis C, and it unknowingly killed my liver over 30 years. On December 04, 2010, I received a liver transplant. During the course of my recovery, I had a very bad infection from surgery and almost died. What followed was many weeks of treatment, during which time I was unable to eat. My kidneys shut down as well, and I was on Dialysis. Pastor Phil Colins at Willow Park church prayed for me one day, and after that, my kidneys kicked back in. During this time in the hospital, I evaluated everything I believed, and the result is that I drew much closer to God.

One day, I began to eat and was able to leave the hospital. During my stay in the hospital, my wife ministered to me by advocating for me and being with me. After I was discharged from the hospital, I found out that Hepatitis C was affecting my new liver, but fortunately, there was a new drug available, and I was cured. All this to say, that during this time I knew the Lord was with me, ministering to me and healing me, loving me and teaching me.

Sometimes, for whatever reason, God has to get our attention. If you are going through hardship, consider that God, in his mercy, is trying to get your attention, especially because something worse may be up the road or you need to take time to re-focus. (James 1:2-8) You can trust God in his essence; He is love and goodness. (1 John 4:7-16) God is forever guiding us and teaching us; may we fully consent to receive his guidance.

Canada is one of the leaders worldwide in Medical Assisted Death. Maybe a medical condition or illness is God in his mercy trying to get our attention to grow in Christ or to receive Jesus as our Saviour and Lord. Any illness and suffering in this world doesn’t compare to the agony in hell as Jesus described it.

Instead of asking “Why Me?” we should be asking how I can draw close to God in these circumstances and “how I should now live.” We will not know the whys until heaven. I don’t know if there will be any answers that people will be able to receive in hell.

St. Therese of Lisieux, in the book The Story of the Soul, tells the story of Therese's life, which included great illness, but people were extremely blessed to be in her presence. Her sanctity was very evident. She died of tuberculosis at the young age of 24, but inspired many to love God and find, as she described it, “the little way.” She was known as the little flower of Jesus. She lived with a great sense of peace and joy. (Acts 4:13)

Is our life built on circumstances or on Jesus? Have we invested in Jesus well so that when it's our time to pass, we know his consolations well? Do we spend time in prayer and a love fellowship now and read and study his word and therefore know the consolations of the Spirit? How much do we really love Jesus? It will show in our lives.

How can I live to the glory of God and love of God in all circumstances? This is the ultimate question we should be asking.