“O LORD, how
long shall I cry for help and you will not hear? Or cry to you
"Violence!"And you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise… You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and
cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when
the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?” (Habakkuk 1:2-3, 13)
Problems are here to
stay (John 6:33). They are custom
made for each of us. “All things work together for good...” (Romans 8:28), people love to quote this
Scripture to others who have troubles. But how many of us actually put it to
the test? The common tendency is to question, “Why, God?” “Why, me?” When
predicaments press in on us instead of loving God and trusting Him when things
go wrong, we resort to self-pity. But feeling sorry for yourself gets you
nowhere fast. Eventually, you become either discouraged or bitter against life
and against God.
The first verse of
Habakkuk tells us the frame of mind the prophet was in. (1:2-4), Habakkuk was not complaining against God, but rather to
God. He knew that God was just in all He did. But he could not understand why
God was allowing the situation to persist. He was in a sense saying, “How long will you allow the wicked to
prosper? Why don’t you do something?” Somewhere along the way in each of
our lives, we face this same question. Why does God allow righteous people to
suffer and the wicked ones to go seemingly untouched by trouble? “It isn’t fair, we protest”.
In Psalm 73 is written
an almost identical situation. What is the answer? (Ps. 73:17) The writer of this Psalm really thought he had a case
against God. He fussed and fumed impatiently until finally God, in His quiet,
loving way, said simply, “Look at the end
of the story, and then you will understand.”
Often we ask, “Why me
Lord?” This can be either a negative question, “Why do I have so much trouble?”
When misfortune befalls us, we cry and pray and question. God may answer our
questions, and He may not. He is not obligated to explain His actions to us (Rom. 9:20-21). However, there are times
when God in His mercy chooses to answer our questions as He did Habakkuk. God even
sends some things into our lives to cause us to question because He has a
message for us. When things happen which we do not understand, we need to
examine ourselves closely and listen intently for Gods voice. Lets consider a
few reasons for “Why me?”
THE LAW OF THE HARVEST
When Israel, and later
Judah, was invaded by the Babylonians, they were reaping the harvest they had
sown. If we mistreat our bodies, we can expect sickness. A smoker dying with
lung cancer need not ask, “Why me?” He should know. A drug addict in a mental
institution should not question God. A Christian who married an unbeliever is
only harvesting rebellion’s crop when that marriage falls apart. And we could
add many more examples. So when trouble comes, before we question God, we need
to question ourselves. “Is this the
result of my actions? If so, where did I go wrong and how can I prevent
it from happening again?”
TO GET OUR ATTENTION
A little boy was
running through the house, laughing and playing. His mother called to him several
times, but he did not hear her. Finally, as he came running by, she grabbed his
arm. “Stop, listen to me.” We live in a busy world. From the time our feet
touch the floor in the morning until we pull them onto the bed at night; there
are a dozen things to do. To get our attention, God may have to slam a “stop
sign” in front of us. It may be sickness, a broken relationship, a financial
need. Whatever it may be, it stops our frantic rush and puts us on our knees.
Then we hear the soft, loving voice of God, “Listen to me, I have something to
tell you.”
TO BRING GLORY TO GOD
Seeing a blind man,
Jesus’ disciples asked, “Master, who did
sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:1-2) They
thought his affliction was the result of the law of the harvest. But Jesus
said, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor
his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (Jn.
9:3). Lazarus’ death was for the
glory of God (Jn. 11:4). From prison
the Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian church that his problems were designed
to spread the gospel (Phil. 1:12-14).
He saw the hand of God at work in his life. His affliction was furthering the
work of God. Faith in God plays an important role in helping us maintain our
spiritual balance when we walk through these dark, trying times for we often do
not know until we come out on the other side if our trial brought glory to God.
TO PERFECT US
The potter may have to
crush and remold a vessel several times before it pleases him. A seamstress may
have to rip, trim, and alter a garment before it fits perfectly. A writer
writes and rewrites before he is satisfied with his work. So the Lord often has
to crush our pride, break our will, alter our attitude, trim our desires and
rework our plans to perfect us. We may have to fall down before we look up. (I Peter 5:10).
FOR REASONS KNOWN ONLY TO GOD
There are times when we
question, “Why me Lord?” and He
answers, “Trust Me.” One lady who had
been going through intense suffering taking chemotherapy treatments for cancer
testified, “I asked God, Why not me?”
And she gave praise to God for loving her and being with her through her
suffering.
We find no record that Job
was ever told why he suffered as he did. He question, “Why me?” He looked
everywhere for the answer but it was hidden from him (Job 23:3-10). It is in situations such as Job’s that faith is
purified. So often when we ask, “Why me,
Lord?” the answer comes, “Wait until
morning, then you will understand.” Some things we will never understand in
this life. We have to trust God who does all things well and keep walking with
Him (Isaiah 55:8-9).
A dog cannot understand why
he is made to stay in a fenced yard, but still he is faithfully devoted to his
master. A baby does not understand why he is given a measles shot, yet he
continues to love his mother. As children of God we often cannot comprehend the
ways of God, but we must keep trusting and praising Him.
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