Why Me, God? - A Common
Question
I'm sure you are asking, "Why me, God?" because something has
happened that caused you to feel somehow singled out. Perhaps you feel that God
must be punishing you for some reason. Why else would this be happening to you?
Be assured. You are not alone. God has not abandoned you and He has not singled
you out, no matter how you feel right now. Whatever you are going through,
God's promise is that He will see you through and give you the strength and
direction you need. God wants you to know that He understands how you feel,
that He knows more about your situation than you do, and that He saw it coming
before you did. Above all, He began to work on His resolution for you before
you even knew to ask! The reality here is that God is for you. He is not
against you.
Why Me, God? - An Erred
Belief System
Our feelings of "Why me, God?" are real. They are based on real
events, but our conclusions may not be accurate. While we don't want to
minimize the pain you feel in any way, we do want to try to help you look more
closely at why you feel singled out and whether or not you've arrived at a
valid conclusion. The answers to why we conclude anything, even why we question
God's intent or purpose in any event, can be found in our highly individualized
network of beliefs.
We absorb our beliefs from our parents, teachers, life experiences, books, etc.
Some of what we have come to believe may sound right, but in reality our
views might be too narrowly defined or inaccurate. We have bought into many
ideas and concepts that distort our right thinking and actually work against
us. For example, we have learned untruths that cause us to live the role of the
victim, either of circumstances or of our past. These erred beliefs cause us to
cry out in pain, "Why me, Lord?"
God's answer is that we are not victims but victors. God has said that we can
trust Him in everything and that every event in our lives should be counted as
ALL joy (James 1:2). He has also told us that He will cause good to come out of
every situation for those who love Him (Romans 8:28). When we ask "Why me,
God" it's really because we don't believe God. Our belief system opposes
God, so we feel singled out and victimized.
Most of us believe, at least on some level, that we need to understand
everything. We just need to know why. When we don't, we may feel God has
betrayed us in some way. In reality, it's not God who is confusing us or
betraying us, it is our belief system. All those inconsistent, partially
correct beliefs cause us to question God's fairness in what we are
experiencing. For example, somewhere in our belief system, we may have come to
believe that we deserve to be blessed because we have been diligent to honor
God, been a good person, fed the hungry, or helped our neighbor. We often
believe that the things we do should keep us from harm's way. Then when
something bad happens, we are confused and ask God why.
Why Me, God? - Changing
our Thinking
When something happens that deeply touches us, we often ask, "Why me, God?"
We are quick to judge the event as good or bad. What if we were to eliminate
the possibility that anything that happens to us is inherently bad and choose
to believe that everything that happens to us is always good?
Impossible, you say? It has to be one or the other, doesn't it?
Belief systems are changeable. When we discover that something we have
believed, even for a long time, is no longer valid, can we not simply change
our mind and fully embrace the new? If you are crying out "Why me,
God?" you must believe there is a God out there who hears you and you have
hoped He would answer you. Maybe there was a time when you didn't believe there
was a God at all. If you changed your mind and opened your life to God, then
you can also change your mind about judging events as being bad for you.
When we choose to believe that ALL the events in our life are good for us, even
the ones that seem frustrating and painful for now, we are agreeing with God!
When we choose to believe and trust God that there will always be a good
outcome, we are trusting Him! Only God knows why we are going through these
circumstances. Our new dialogue with God will be, "God, this is going to
be an interesting journey. I'm excited to see how you are going to bring good
out of this one. I trust you will!"
Why Me, God? - God is
in Control
God often uses the events in our lives to do a work in the life of someone
else. The truth is that we all tend to have a very small world view. Our world
revolves around us and because everything in our personal world affects us, we
forget that we are not the cause and effect of everything. The reality is that
we are one of millions of human beings making decisions every second. Every one
of those decisions affects the world, while only some of them affect us
directly.
We are not in control. God is in control and nothing happens apart from Him.
Nothing changes except it proceeds from Him. In Genesis we read how God created
all things, set them in their place, gave them direction, and set them into motion
in perfect harmony and balance. No matter how many free-will decisions are made
every second, everything remains in God's balance. Hebrews 1:3 says, "The
Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being,
sustaining all things by his powerful word…" No individual can throw the
universe into disorder. God is always in control.
Life isn't always fair in our eyes, but God is always fair. We are not victims
in this life. We are unconditionally and passionately loved by our Father God.
Perhaps when we are feeling distressed and we ask, "Why me?" His
answer might be, "Trust Me, I love you. I am working everything out for
your good!"
Why Me, God? - One
Man's Story
A man in the Bible named Job asked, "Why me, God?" He enjoyed a good
life. He was favored of God and blameless in God's sight. Satan, not being
omniscient, was seemingly not aware of Job's existence until one day the Lord
said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on
earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns
evil" (Job 1:8). God challenged, encouraged, and allowed Satan to inflict
personal extreme pain and suffering on Job. Because God knew Job, and knew he
had chosen to love God no matter what, the Lord allowed Job's faith to be
sorely tested. He permitted Satan to kill Job's family, plunder his land and
cattle, and to destroy everything Job held dear in the earth.
What is the lesson? God demonstrated to Satan (and to us) that those whose
hearts are truly turned to God, serve God, and love God passionately, cannot be
turned away from God by any of Satan's tactics. God knew Job, his strengths and
weaknesses, and He knew that Job was strong enough to go through everything
Satan could unleash. Job, through God's strength, made it through his
circumstances. Job understood that a person can lose everything they have, but
when we belong to God, we have everything we need.
Job didn't do anything wrong. He was a servant of God, He loved God, and He was
loved by God. Job's story is about trusting God for a good outcome, even while
going through dire circumstances. Does that mean that all the bad things that
happen in our lives are a "Job" event? Not necessarily. Job's lesson
was passed down so we would know that God will bring about a good result for
those who love Him, who steadfastly trust Him in all circumstances.
Why Me, God? - Hope
Are you totally trusting God in your circumstances? Do you believe His ways are
always just and fair? Do you trust that His plans for you are for good and not
for evil? If so, share those feelings with God. Consider the following prayer,
"Dear Father, I trust You. I believe that You are in control of my life
and that You allowed this circumstance to enter my life. I trust that You have
a good result planned. Teach me to lean less on my own understanding and more
on You. In Jesus' name, amen."
Prayer of Salvation - Our First Real
Conversation With God
The "prayer of salvation" is the most important prayer we'll ever
pray. When we're ready to become a Christian, we're ready to have our first
real conversation with God, and these are its components:
- We acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God;
that He came to earth as a man in order to live
the sinless life that we cannot live; that He died in our place, so that
we would not have to pay the penalty we deserve.
- We confess our past life of sin -- living for ourselves and not obeying God.
- We admit we are ready to trust Jesus Christ as
our Savior and Lord.
- We ask Jesus to come into our heart, take up residence there, and
begin living through us.
Prayer of Salvation -
It Begins With Faith in God
When we pray the prayer of salvation, we're letting God know we believe His
Word is true. By the faith He has given us, we choose to believe in Him. The
Bible tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for
he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those
who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)
So, when we pray, asking God for the gift of salvation, we're exercising our
free will to acknowledge that we believe in Him. That demonstration of faith
pleases God, because we have freely chosen to know Him.
Prayer of Salvation -
Confessing Our Sin
When we pray the prayer of salvation, we're admitting that we've sinned. As the
Bible says of everyone, save Christ alone: "For all have sinned, and
fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
To sin is simply to fall short of the mark, as an arrow that does not quite hit
the bull's-eye. The glory of God that we fall short of is found only in Jesus
Christ: "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of
darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 4:6)
The prayer of salvation, then, recognizes that Jesus Christ is the only human
who ever lived without sin. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin
for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2
Corinthians 5:21)
Prayer of Salvation -
Professing Faith in Christ as Savior and Lord
With Christ as our standard of perfection, we're now acknowledging faith in Him
as God, agreeing with the Apostle John that: "In the beginning was the
Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning
with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made
that was made." (John 1:1-3)
Because God could only accept a perfect, sinless sacrifice, and because He knew
that we could not possibly accomplish that, He sent His Son to die for us and
pay the eternal price. "For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life.." (John 3:16)
Prayer of Salvation -
Say It & Mean It Now!
Do you agree with everything you have read so far? If you do, don't wait a
moment longer to start your new life in Jesus Christ. Pray this with us:
"Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins
have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from
my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning
again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected
from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord
of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send
your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my
life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen."
Prayer of Salvation -
I've Prayed It; Now What?
If you've prayed this prayer of salvation with true conviction and heart, you
are now a follower of Jesus. This is a fact, whether or not you feel any
different. Religious systems may have led you to believe that you should feel
something - a warm glow, a tingle, or some other mystical experience. The fact
is, you may, or you may not. If you have prayed the prayer of salvation and
meant it, you are now a follower of Jesus. The Bible tells us that your eternal
salvation is secure! "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord
Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will
be saved." (Romans 10:9)
Welcome to the family of God! We encourage you now to find a local church where
you can be baptized and grow in the knowledge of God through His Word, the Bible.
