Why Not Me?

Have you heard of Job?  He was a rich dude in the Bible who lost all his children and all his wealth in the course of a single day... And then just to top it off he got covered in boils from head to toe.  At first, Job took all this very well - until his three best friends started haranguing him and telling him all the stuff he must be doing wrong to suffer that way. After that he started to feel pretty sorry for himself and asking that universal question: "why me?"

Ever asked that when life got tough?  It's worth reading the book of Job.  In the end he learned some important lessons, but it took a while for God's message to get through, because Job was so busy feeling sorry for himself.

Don't get me wrong, Job was going through a huge trial, and those three best friends of his were insensitive to infinity and beyond.  But.  The book of Job is there for us to learn from.  To learn, in part, what not to do in a trial.  One of the things not to do is to wallow in the "why me?" question.  It's something I've had to learn personally... a number of times.  Really, why not me?  What have I done to earn a life of ease and comfort?  I didn't create myself or my children or husband - so exactly what gives me the right to good health or anything else that I might want or think I need?  Nothing.

The apostle Peter wrote in a letter:

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you... (1Peter 4:12) 

Those fiery trials are necessary for us to truly grow into children of God (what an incredible opportunity - to become a child of God!)

And in book of Hebrews God told His people:

And have you forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.  If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? (Hebrews 12:5-7)

The bad things that happen to us are not because God stopped paying attention to what was going on in our lives.  Nor are they the arbitrary punishment of an ill-tempered God.  Every challenge, difficulty, crisis, or even tragedy that comes your way and my way is an opportunity to learn something important.  Too often we (speaking for myself, anyway) waste that opportunity by asking God to make the bad stuff go away... and then either waiting or wallowing.

Now please understand, I'm not suggesting that God expects or even wants us to just supress the grief of a tragedy and get straight to pulling our socks up and learning the lessons He has for us.  Ours is an ever-merciful and patient Creator who understands what it is to be human - He doesn't ask us to just shut off grief and pretend it's not there at all.  Nor does God ask us to pretend that pain doesn't hurt and put on a happy face (otherwise a big chunk of the book of Psalms wouldn't exist!).  Jesus Himself felt and expressed anguish in His lifetime as the only perfect human being ever to live.  But - when we get to the point of just wallowing and feeling sorry for ourselves, or when we pause life (and personal growth) to wait for God to fix things so life is just as we think it should be - that is the time to start asking what God has for us to learn. God has promised:

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful , who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Did you really read that?  Go on, read it again.  God is faithful.  Did you get that?  He will make the way of escape so that you may be able to bear it.  Have you really got that?  Do you really believe it - right to the core of your being?  Whatever you are suffering right now, however unbearable it feels - there is a way through.  Whatever God is throwing at you (or letting others throw at you), there is a message in it for you - a personal message, written in love, just for you from your great Creator.

Don't (as I have often made the mistake of doing) get so busy wallowing or waiting that you miss the priceless gift of the lessons that God is teaching you.  Is God's message getting through?  Why not you? Why not me?  God has so many things to teach each of us.  Are we listening?

Whose Will Be Done?

"Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven..." (Matthew 6:10)

This was part of Jesus' instructions to His disciples about how to pray. Many of us say it, one way or another. (The model prayer was just that, a model to help us construct our own prayers - Jesus said "in this manner pray", not "repeat this word-for-word every time you pray" and He also warned against "vain repetition" in prayer.) ...But do we really mean it?

Do we really want God's will to be done, no matter what? ...Or do we assume that what we really, really want must be God's will, because we really, really want it? Are we willing to completely give up the things we think are important because God has something better in mind - even if that something better involves pain, suffering and tragedy throughout our human existence?

Many atheists and agnostics point to the horrible suffering and tragedy in the world as proof that there is no God. We call God our father - yet what loving father would allow his children to die of hunger when he had the power to prevent it?

The difference between God and mere human parents is that He has our Eternal interests at heart. Let me give an example. Yesterday morning, my oldest daughter went outside to find her treasured chicken lying dead with its head bitten off. If I had forseen that this would happen, I would have done everything I could to prevent it. God could have prevented it, but He didn't - not because He doesn't care about small things, but because He knows that there can be an eternal benefit from this small "tragedy" for my daughters or myself. Would I have had the courage to let the chicken have it's head bitten off if I could have prevented it, even knowing it would have some eternal benefit? I think perhaps not. God's will is that all should be saved and He will allow whatever suffering is necessary now to achieve that ultimate end - for all to share in the unimaginable joy of eternal life.

Sometimes I let my children suffer in small ways to help them learn important lessons. But could I bring myself to let one of them make a mistake that would leave them paralysed for the rest of their lives - even if I knew it would make the difference between them choosing Eternal Life and Eternal Death? As incomprehensible as it is to our human minds, the suffering that God allows in the world is proof of His incredible and boundless love for every single one of us. He knows that only tragedy and suffering - the results of us doing things our way - will prove that our way doesn't work... Only then will many finally choose Life.

Faith is not about believing that God will shield us from pain and make things better. Faith is trusting that even the pit of despair has a purpose. Faith is not the belief that God will give us our hearts desire, but that He will teach us to desire what is truly valuable.

Genuinely meaning it when we say "Your will be done" is an enormous step of faith. We are saying to God "I trust Your plans for my life, even if it means realising my worst fears." If we really mean it, "Your will be done" doesn't necessarily mean that the right job will turn up at the right time - it may mean that we are unemployed for life. "Your will be done" doesn't necessarily mean that our pain will stop or our sickness be healed in time - it may mean that we learn to live with increasing pain and incapacity.

God has promised that He will proved our basic physical needs. Jesus said

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6:33)

All the way back in the book of Dueteronomy in the Old Testament, we read that Moses urged the Israelites to "choose life" (Dueteronomy 30:19). God's will is always for the best in the end - are we ready to choose life? Are we ready to take a step of faith into the great and terrifying unknown and say with conviction "Your will be done"?

When It's All So Broken

Where do you turn when everything in life seems to go wrong?

When life seems to have turned into a trail of destruction and tragedy, how do you cope?

Any number of politicians and spiritual leaders have thought that they have the answers for a broken world. Many speeches have been made about the perfect formula for peace and prosperity for everyone.

There have been countless campaigns to end poverty and disease. Over 20 years ago a LiveAid concert was held to raise money for people dying of starvation. People are still dying of starvation. Despite the money raised at 46664 concerts since 2003, millions continue to contract and die of AIDS. Make Poverty History still hasn't made poverty history, six years after it started. GM crops were meant to be the solution to world hunger, but since the widespread growing of GM rice started, the world has suffered from a widespread rice shortage.

What hope is there for a broken world that politicians, spiritual leaders and charity organizations have completely failed to fix? Maybe occasionally someone succeeds a little bit - but then another (often bigger) problem springs up somewhere else.

The real reason the world is so broken is that we continue to resist the only real solution to every problem we have ever had.

Sometime - maybe soon - a bunch of leaders will come up with a solution to the world's brokenness that seems to really work - an alliance of powerful nations. In the end, though, it will lead to disaster and destruction greater than this world has ever known. Only after that can the real healing happen when Christ Himself takes over the world.

The question is - which side will we be on?

To read about Bible prophecies that explain the future and God's plan, have a look at the free booklet, You Can Understand Bible Prophecy.

I also recommend watching the Beyond Today episode: Calling Good Evil.

The Hole

There's a hole in the world we keep trying to fill,

Yet though we all work with all of our will,
The wound in humanity festers there still,
It will keep growing and throbbing until,
We see that our power and all of our might
Can't turn pain into joy or the dark into light -
Though we cry and we groan and we fume and we fight
Though we call the sweet "bitter", and call the wrong "right".
We can't hold back the shadow, nor pour down the rain,
Though still we keep trying... again and again;
We won't defeat death, nor conquer all pain;
But yet each generation toils on in vain.
There's a hole in the world that we never can fill,
But our Maker can, if we yield to His Will,
The wounds in our hearts will fester until,
We choose to let go, to trust God and be still.

K Mihalec

If you're looking for the solutions that come from making God a part of your life, try reading the free booklet Making Life Work.

Why Me??

A common question in times of pain is: "Why me?"

Even devoted Christians often struggle with the great question "Why does God allow suffering?"

The answer is not really long and complicated. It doesn't take a university degree to understand, but few people are willing to accept the simplicity of the truth. As the Bible says: "the wisdom of God is foolishness to man." And yet, the 'foolishness' of God is far beyond the wisdom of man. What it does take is the Spirit of God to understand the things of God.

Suffering comes down to a result of choice. God gave man freedom of choice. When we make bad choices, suffering and pain is the result. Not always directly, and not always immediately, but eventually there is no escape from the consequences of our decisions. God allows the pain, not to be cruel, but to convince us that His Way is The Right Way.

Right now, it seems senseless that children, especially, suffer horribly, but it can all be traced back to the choices of humanity. Most especially our choice to tell God we don't need Him and we don't want Him.

God won't force us to do things His way, but nor will He rescue us from our failed paradise.

We can be excited and encouraged to know that God's plan is for everyone, and that He has ordained a second resurrection (raising the dead) to ensure that every man, woman and child has the opportunity to know Him and choose the Life He has to offer.

Beyond that time, God's promise for eternity is that there will be "...no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain..." (Revelation 21:4)

For now, pain is a by-product of human choice - we must suffer because we (humanity) choose our way. We can look forward to Christ's return, when we will learn to do things God's way and suffering will come to an end.

For a more detailed explanation of human suffering, you can read Why Does God Allow Suffering, or to learn more about God's plan for all of humanity (God has not forgotten or abandoned the millions of dead who never heard the name of Jesus Christ), try reading What Happens After Death.