Why Me? Why This? Why Now?

Have you ever asked these questions of God? Are you asking them now?

We’ve heard it said, we’re either going through a life storm, coming out of one, or getting ready to go into one. It’s so true. Life can be tough at times. Some storms we face are merely thunder and lightning that frighten us and shake us up a bit. Others have the ability to knock us off our feet, toss us to-and-fro, and sometimes even throw us right in the middle of oncoming traffic!

God never said life would be easy. As a matter of fact, he clearly warns us in His Word that it’s going to be difficult, that we will experience many trials and sorrows. If you’re currently going through a difficult season of life, you’re not alone. Thousands of us are facing many of the same issues, and some are facing much greater ones than ours.

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Christ himself was no stranger to pain. He suffered for our sake (1 Peter 2:24). He wept over the death of his friend (John 11:35). He cried over Jerusalem and it’s inevitable destruction (Luke 19:41). And he was anguished, distressed, and his soul was crushed as he approached the hour of his suffering and crucifixion (Matthew 26:37-38).

We don’t have a savior that’s a stranger to pain and temptation. Though he did not sin, he experienced the full measure of the trials, sufferings, and sorrows that life on earth can bring.

“So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.” Hebrews 4:14-15

While it’s easy to ask God what’s happening and why, the answers aren’t always as easy to accept or even understand. Gods perspective surpasses anything we could ever think of or imagine. His view of our lives and circumstances is quite different than ours. We focus on the here and now, the temporary not the eternal. While God does care about our current and temporary circumstances, His priority and perspective are on our eternity and what is best for all people affected by a particular situation – even if it means some suffer loss, pain, heartache, and sorrow in the process.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

Jesus tells us in Hebrews 4:14-15 that He understands what we are going through and he encourages us to seek peace in Him in John 16:33. While embracing the peace of God in the midst of suffering may be difficult, it is possible. It all boils down to what we choose as our perspective.

Each time you face a life trial, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is God trying to teach me through this trial?
• Who is God trying to save through my suffering?
• How does my pain accomplish God’s will in my life or in the lives of others?

Now ask God to help you understand and embrace the answers with a positive attitude, knowing and accepting that God can and will use everything we go through for good – even if we don’t fully see or understand it at the time.

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”  Romans 8:28

Join me today in striving to see life through God’s eyes — through the lens of eternity.