And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. – Genesis 50:19-20
I endured a particularly difficult time in my life for several years after experiencing a miscarriage. While grief was certainly expected under the circumstances, I grew bogged down the midst of feeling as though life had dealt me an unfair blow. I found myself asking, “Why me?”
It can be said by most of us that life has sent its troubles our way, and finding ourselves consumed with the “why me” questions is all too familiar. It can be so easy to get stuck there:
“Why was I diagnosed with this disease?”
“Why is my child sick?”
“Why did I lose my baby?”
“Why is my marriage suffering?”
“Why don’t I have what she has?”
While there is a place for examining our lives for unconfessed sin during trials, more often than not, these questions are just our complaining about our circumstances. We do this when we are questioning God’s plan.
Think: Why do we only ask, “Why me?” about the bad circumstances instead of the good ones? We often act as though God “owes” us these blessings we have been given. Why do we not ask God:
“Why did you choose me to be born in America?”
“Why did you bless me with a healthy child?”
“Why did you give me such a faithful, hardworking husband?”
“Why did I get chosen for the job or promotion?”
How easily we forget that we deserve worse than nothing. Our sin and unworthiness earn us nothing but eternity in Hell. Instead, through His great love, God has blessed us far more than we deserve. We not only have a home in Heaven when we accept Christ as our Saviour, but we also have a lifetime of being showered with God’s favor when we choose to use our lives to please Him.
Instead of looking at our trials, difficulties, or disappointments as our misfortunes, we should look at them as God’s preparation for greater service for Him. Perhaps, our hardship will be the catalyst of our becoming the blessing someone else needs in their own desperate times. Our faith requires us to trust God’s will, even when it means we must endure things we would rather not. Instead of asking, “Why me?” let us say, “God, please use this hardship to build me to serve You and to bless others.”
by Vicki Voorhis