Thoughtful Thursday

Why Me?

     Ever ask yourself that? Of course you have. We all have. Why me? Why did that have to happen to me? What did I do to deserve that? It can be phrased in so many different ways that I would be sitting here for days on end if I tried to type them all up. 

     Here's the simple answer... why not? That's right. Why shouldn't it happen to you? It might suck, and not be fair at all. 'Anybody who says life is fair is selling something.' (recognize the quote?) Life's not fair. The things that happen to us are not because we are bad or good. God doesn't work that way. Things happen because they happen. Yes, there are some things He had planned out in the beginning, and have, do and will come true. But, the day to day living we do, well, that's just life. 

     God does not make bad things happen to punish people. No. He doesn't. God is love. At one time he did punish people, He was trying to get them to understand what they needed to do. But, all that changed when He sent His son Jesus, to us. Jesus took ALL the punishments. Each and every one that we should be receiving. If God still sent down punishments onto us, that would be like Him saying that Jesus' death wasn't good enough. He's taking it all back and we now have to pay for our sins. Never read that in the Bible. 

     No, God doesn't make bad things happen. However, he does use those bad things and turn them into good things. We usually don't see right away the good that comes from what we suffer. It can take months, years, even a lifetime, before we actually see how God turned that terrible thing into something good. He knows what's going to happen. Like an earthly parent, he has the knowledge we don't have. He knows what choice we will make, and if it's a bad one, he really hopes we won't make it. But the gift of freewill is absolute. It's our mistake to make. 

     There's this great song out there, only a couple of years old called "Blessings." The gist of the song is summed up in two lines: "what if our blessings come through raindrops, what if our healing comes through tears?" Usually we don't pay much attention to God when things are going fine and dandy. We only cry out to Him when things go wrong. He uses the "why me" moments to show His love for you. Because, He wants you to know He loves you. He really does. He gave us a book that tells us over and over again how much He loves us. He sent His Son with a message of love for us. God is love. I'm not the first to make that statement, and I highly doubt I'll be the last. (I really hope I'm not the last.)

     So, the next time you think "why me?" Stop and think, "why not?" Then step back and see if what is happening now can be used for good later. You might just see it, and once you do, it's a lot easier to deal with the situation right then. And while you're at it, stop and thank Him for the days when things are going right as well.

blessings,

mamaAthena