Why Me?
“For
to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not
only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake”
(Philippians
1:29)
We’ve just returned
from a week of traveling through Arizona. Right
before our departure we listened to a U.S. Marine Veteran
who fought in World War II. He was telling us
that he was right next to another Marine when a sniper
fired and the other man was killed. Here it is,
60 years later, and the event still burns in his mind
as though it was yesterday. He wonders, “Why
that other man? Why not me?”
In Arizona, we spoke
with a lady in her 80’s who is experiencing some of
the difficulties that accompany what is called the “aging
process.” Her mother was “fit
as a fiddle” when she was over 100, but this
lady is not. It’s a real problem and she wonders,
“Why me?”
We managed to spend
time with all my children and grandchildren while we
were in Arizona. One of my grandsons, Christopher
Beckham, II, has Muscular Dystrophy. His little
brother, Blake, probably does, too, except that his
parents have not had him tested. They don’t want
to know, figuring they’ll find out soon enough.
These are beautiful boys. Buy why? Why them?
Why these boys?
To some extent we
have all asked that question. Someone who had
every right to ask it was Helen Keller, who was both
blind and deaf. Many other people are not blind
and deaf. Why her? And yet, through the
incredible loving patience of a caregiver, Annie Sullivan,
she was rescued from the prison of her own body and
could communicate with others in humanity. She
was a very bright girl and had much to “say,” including
these words: “The best and
most beautiful things cannot be seen or even touched.
They must be felt with the heart.” When
Annie signed “God” on Helen’s hand and tried to explain
Him, Helen replied, “I knew
You were there, God; I just didn’t know Your name.”
You have to wonder,
why does God allow the Marines, older people and children
like Helen Keller to suffer like they do? What
would Helen Keller have been like if she was sighted
and could hear? Is it possible that she became
infinitely deeper and more caring BECAUSE OF her disabilities?
It’s actually very likely.
Suffering transforms
every one of us, and your situation not only affects
you, but it also impacts those who know about you.
During the Christmas holidays we received several donations
to our Church On The Net.
Renee Bondi sent us
a gift, which touched us deeply. She is a quadriplegic
and has needs for her own ministries, and yet she reached
out and gave. Barbara Davenport arranged a meeting
at the local VA Hospital to give me a beautiful electronic
Bible and buy my lunch. She said, “I
like to listen to your sermons.” Barbara
is a quadriplegic – we are blessed by those God has
placed in our lives.
At the VA Hospital
and in other places, we have observed the tender way
in which those with devastating injuries reach out and
give. Dennis Stinson, himself a quadriplegic,
pointed out to me: “the
paras (paraplegics)
help the quads (quadriplegics)
and the quads help those
who are on gurneys.” Are these people changed
by their injuries, their suffering? Oh yes, for
God intends good in all that happens.
Dale Carnegie, the
“positive thinking”
man of a generation ago, told about an especially bad
winter sleet storm in the State of Missouri. Ice
fell heavily on the trees and clung to the branches,
causing many of the limbs to break and crash to the
ground because they could not bear the great weight
of the ice. Carnegie contrasted the broken trees
in Missouri with similar trees he had seen in Canada
that routinely withstood far worse storms than the one
in Missouri, yet he could not remember seeing broken
limbs in Canada caused by snow or ice. The trees
in Canada naturally bent and bowed down, allowing the
heavy snow and ice to slide off harmlessly. In
Missouri, the limbs did not bend and were broken.
George Boose wrote about Carnegie’s observation, noting
that all of us eventually have “sleet
storm” moments in life and we will be changed
by them.
Our Scripture verse
for today, along with others like it, says something
interesting about suffering: “For
to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not
only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake”
(Philippians 1:29). Suffering has been “granted”
to us, and Paul, who wrote those words, presents suffering
as a high privilege, right up there with the opportunity
of believing in the Lord and receiving eternal salvation.
God does not fully
explain suffering and He does not have to, any more
than we have to explain to our dogs or cats why we take
them to the veterinarian for the shots necessary to
protect them from something worse. Job, a real
man who experienced great suffering, called out, “I
know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last
on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I
know, that in my flesh I shall see God” (Job
19:25-26).
Job loved the Lord
and came to understand that God’s purposes are good,
even when our circumstances are bad. He understood
there is more to life than these few decades on earth.
Here are some of the things we may understand about
suffering:
-
It’s a privilege
to suffer when God allows it (Philippians
1:29)
-
All suffering
is temporary (Job 19:25-26)
-
Our suffering
is meant to produce good character (Romans 5:3-5)
-
Suffering can
enable us to comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:4)
-
Our suffering
can lead others to Christ (2 Corinthians 1:6)
-
We suffer so
we will trust in God and not in ourselves (2 Corinthians
1:9)
-
In suffering
we can learn that God WILL deliver us (2 Corinthians
1:10)
-
Through suffering
we learn to be thankful (2 Corinthians 1:11)
We were mostly out
of touch with the news while traveling in Arizona, but
on our return watched newscasts of the devastation from
the earthquake and tsunami in Southeast Asia.
Why those people? We don’t know, except we can
recognize that our good God truly loves us even when
life overwhelms us with sorrow.
Father, we surrender to You. There is so much
we do not understand, but we accept Your love, as revealed
in Christ Jesus. We trust in You now. In
Jesus Name. Amen.
