I'm sure you are asking, "Why me, God?" because something has happened that caused you to feel somehow singled out. Perhaps you feel that God must be punishing you for some reason. Why else would this be happening to you? Be assured. You are not alone. God has not abandoned you and He has not singled you out, no matter how you feel right now. Whatever you are going through, God's promise is that He will see you through and give you the strength and direction you need. God wants you to know that He understands how you feel, that He knows more about your situation than you do, and that He saw it coming before you did. Above all, He began to work on His resolution for you before you even knew to ask! The reality here is that God is for you. He is not against you.
Why Me, God? - An Erred Belief System
Our feelings of "Why me, God?" are real. They are based on real events, but our conclusions may not be accurate. While we don't want to minimize the pain you feel in any way, we do want to try to help you look more closely at why you feel singled out and whether or not you've arrived at a valid conclusion. The answers to why we conclude anything, even why we question God's intent or purpose in any event, can be found in our highly individualized network of beliefs.
We absorb our beliefs from our parents, teachers, life experiences, books, etc. Some of what we have come to believe may sound right, but in reality our views might be too narrowly defined or inaccurate. We have bought into many ideas and concepts that distort our right thinking and actually work against us. For example, we have learned untruths that cause us to live the role of the victim, either of circumstances or of our past. These erred beliefs cause us to cry out in pain, "Why me, Lord?"
God's answer is that we are not victims but victors. God has said that we can trust Him in everything and that every event in our lives should be counted as ALL joy (James 1:2). He has also told us that He will cause good to come out of every situation for those who love Him (Romans 8:28). When we ask "Why me, God" it's really because we don't believe God. Our belief system opposes God, so we feel singled out and victimized.
Most of us believe, at least on some level, that we need to understand everything. We just need to know why. When we don't, we may feel God has betrayed us in some way. In reality, it's not God who is confusing us or betraying us, it is our belief system. All those inconsistent, partially correct beliefs cause us to question God's fairness in what we are experiencing. For example, somewhere in our belief system, we may have come to believe that we deserve to be blessed because we have been diligent to honor God, been a good person, fed the hungry, or helped our neighbor. We often believe that the things we do should keep us from harm's way. Then when something bad happens, we are confused and ask God why.
Why Me, God? - Changing our Thinking
When something happens that deeply touches us, we often ask, "Why me, God?" We are quick to judge the event as good or bad. What if we were to eliminate the possibility that anything that happens to us is inherently bad and choose to believe that everything that happens to us is always good? Impossible, you say? It has to be one or the other, doesn't it?
Belief systems are changeable. When we discover that something we have believed, even for a long time, is no longer valid, can we not simply change our mind and fully embrace the new? If you are crying out "Why me, God?" you must believe there is a God out there who hears you and you have hoped He would answer you. Maybe there was a time when you didn't believe there was a God at all. If you changed your mind and opened your life to God, then you can also change your mind about judging events as being bad for you.
When we choose to believe that ALL the events in our life are good for us, even the ones that seem frustrating and painful for now, we are agreeing with God! When we choose to believe and trust God that there will always be a good outcome, we are trusting Him! Only God knows why we are going through these circumstances. Our new dialogue with God will be, "God, this is going to be an interesting journey. I'm excited to see how you are going to bring good out of this one. I trust you will!"
Lovely Thoughts for Lovely People Just Like You
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