Why me, Lord?

 

Personalized license plates can be pretty profound sometimes—even when they’re probably just trying to be funny.  I saw one the other day that read “YMELORD”; “Why me, Lord?”   It’s a question that has come up throughout history and continues to be asked in these troubled times.  For instance, Jeremiah suffered through rejection of his prophetic mission at the time of the exile (Jeremiah 20:10-13).  And John’s gospel relates how Jesus also was rejected by the Jews who were trying to stone Him for blasphemy (John 10:31-42).

Jesus was threatened by those who witnessed His “works.”   And Jesus challenged His accusers to clarify over which “good work” were they charging Him.  Jesus’ time had not yet come so He fled down the mountain to the Jordan.  His passion and death would come soon but He wanted to celebrate the Passover first with His disciples. 

When we ask the question, “Why me, Lord?”  there are many ways to respond.   We can join with Him in His passion and death as we realize we also have many moments of crisis in our own lives when we plead for God’s help.  There are times of mourning when a family member dies; there are economic crises when we lose a job or even a home; there are spiritual crises of faith when we find it hard to believe in a good God who cares for us, etc.

Psalm 18 has a line that gives me hope when I’m in a “Why me?” state of mind: “In my distress, I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.” (Psalm 18:7)

My reflections this past week have been on Scripture that dwelt on crises:  Monday with Jesus saving the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11) and Wednesday with Daniel refusing to worship the golden statue of Nebuchadnezzar and then being thrown into the fiery furnace with his three companions (Daniel 3:14-95).

We need to remember the comment made to Thomas in the Upper Room the week after Jesus rose from the dead.  Jesus said, “Blessed are they who believe even though they do not see.”  (John 20:29).  This can also be translated to “Blessed are they who have trusted even though they do not understand!”

So “Why me, Lord?”   If we truly trust the Lord we can respond “Why not, Lord because blessed are we who don’t understand even though we’re bombarded on all sides with terrible pressures and anxieties.”