This blog post has been a long time in the writing. I knew God wanted me to write it, but it was
extremely difficult to get it out. He
would not let me write anything else until I finished it. So it has been over a month since I have
blogged, or even written anything for that matter until I could finish this,
because in some ways, I was still living in a “WHY ME” attitude. He has taught me a lot this last month or so,
so here is my long time coming post on “WHY NOT ME?”
Why Not Me?
Most of us prefer the seasons in life when everything is
going along well, and there is nothing really hard to deal with. I think it is safe to say, that even though
there are seasons in life when the storms are raging, or we are wandering in
the middle of winter, and can’t feel God’s warmth, we would much rather live
life in an easy carefree summer existence.
I know I would.
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| photo by patty |
I think most of us
would also say, what when the storms were raging is when we felt His presence
in our lives the most.
Three years ago I lost my husband unexpectedly, and then
just two days later, when I lost my dad to a long term illness, I know some of
my first words, (when I finally found my voice) were “WHY ME?” I mean I was working for God in both my
professional life and at church, I volunteered in just about every ministry
that asked for help. So why was God
doing this to me? Even if we are not
neck deep in ministry, I have heard time, and time again from believers and non-believers
alike those two little words when trouble rears its ugly head.
The truth is however, that God does not promise a life free
of trouble. In fact, He promises the
exact opposite. In this world we will have trouble.
John 16: 33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have
peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the
world.”
So if God promises
that in this world we will have trouble, how do we have hope through our
troubles? How do we not just curl up
into a ball and give up? Well, there was
a time that I actually did this. All I
wanted to do was go to sleep, and when I woke up all of my trouble would be
gone. But guess what, when I woke up
trouble was not gone.
The second half of
his promise was for us to take courage, or in other translations, is says to
“take heart” because Jesus has overcome the world. I have said before, when a test comes to our
lives, we can either become bitter,
or we can become better; and if we
allow God to make us better, we then become bolder for Him. He did
overcome the world, so, no matter what comes our way, we have that knowledge
that we too can become overcomers.
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photo by patty
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If you are like me,
sometimes it takes a while for things to travel the 18 inches from my head to
my heart. I knew all of these things
when I lost my husband and my dad, but the “why me” was still on my lips, and
in my heart. I knew in my head that God
had the best for me, that He would always take care of me, but in my heart I
wanted things to get back to the way they were, to wake up from my sleep and
everything that had happened be just a bad dream. But God had other plans.
The “Why Me” started to turn into, “Why Not Me?” What makes me any different than others who
have experienced loss, or, other hard ship, or cancer, or divorce, or any kind
of trail that can come in this life?
Nothing. The only thing that
makes me any different, if that God promised me Himself through that trial.
I have made it part of my daily devotion, to thank God for
the trial He has given me. I thank Him
for what He will do to prove Himself faithful to me today, and I pray that He
use my trial to show others how faithful He is so they can trust Him in their
own personal trail.
So the next time you find yourself in a trial, try, even if it is hard,
take a step back. Say “Why not me?” and
ask God to be your everything in the trail, ask Him to make you better through
it, then ask him how He can use you in this trail to help others. Take courage
today, Jesus did overcome the world,
and for that, we can become bolder!
Patty, you went through such an incredibly hard time. Asking God to be our everything through trials is what, I believe, will get us through it. And to actually see good come out of the hardship. I wrote about Praying Romans 8:28 this week, but really you should have written it. Thank you for being brave in sharing your story. Love you in Christ!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your experience, Patty. I believe that no matter how long we've walked with the Lord and no matter how spiritually mature we are, (or think we are), we're vulnerable. Sometimes these periods of great trial work a depth of dependence on God that we would otherwise not experience. Our family has gone through some seasons that have brought us to our knees "big-time." God bless you for sharing even though it was a tough one.
ReplyDeletePatty, I'm so glad you shared this. I love your thought that God gives us himself, and he is enough for us. Faith is a process sometimes. Those questions and struggles are very real and are part of the journey. But when we keep pressing in, God guides us through. Thanks for sharing your story.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your obedience to write this. I struggled with this question also. I did what you did. I searched the scriptures. I also did not want to get out of bed. God told be to Be still and KNOW that He is God. To cease striving and let Him heal me. A dear friend of mine was in a deep dark pit. I told her to Just Be don't try to figure out everything...just let God love you you. That was the lesson I learned. Believers need t know that they are right along with David...Why so downcast Oh my soul when the realities of life's dark places camp out on their doorstep. Thank you for being brave to write. Sending you hugs.
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