When do we utter “why me God?” Sometimes It happens when we have felt His calling on our lives to do something for Him. Other times we utter it out of frustration at life’s circumstances.
If we are honest with ourselves, at times, we doubt that God even has a plan for us. This doubt may appear and disappear in a moment but still it is present in our thoughts and lives. We fear and sometimes question if God truly knows what He is doing with us. Don’t take this the wrong way, but faith sometimes makes it hard for us to grasp the tangible of the unseen. Does it mean that God isn’t there or He doesn’t know what He’s doing? Certainly NOT!
Let me be clear, God has a plan for each of us, you can be certain of that! Does it necessarily mean that He is involved in all of our steps? I don’t think so, be His presence is certainly there. Rather in the grand scheme of our lives He would love nothing more to forge us into His holy image and guides our steps in that matter.
How should we then respond to God in our circumstances and in His calling on our lives?
There are two biblical examples that I would like to draw from:
1) Samuel
He didn’t quite know who was calling him initially. It is recorded in 1 Samuel that the word of the Lord was very rare in his day…so God calls Samuel in the middle of the night. Samuel thinks that the high priest Eli is calling him. So Samuel gets up and makes his way to Eli, but Eli awakens and says “I didn’t call you. Samuel gets called two additional times, and each time he awakens and goes to see what Eli wants. Finally Eli wises up and says; “Samuel when you hear the voice calling you again say ‘Speak Lord for your servant is listening‘”. (1 Samuel 3:1-10) And so God calls to Samuel again and this time Samuel doesn’t respond with “Why me God?” but instead he responds just as Eli instructed him to. Thus begins the calling and ministry of Samuel and his willingness to obey the Lord when He called.
2) Isaiah
God gives Isaiah an epic vision of heaven. God is on His throne, and all around there are angelic creatures and angels calling out in worship to God, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” As Isaiah is viewing this majestic scene, he quickly realizes that he is doomed to be in the holy presence of the Almighty. He is confronted with his own sin and the sins of his people. How could he possibly compare to the perfection of God who is in the very room as he? And so Isaiah, perhaps wants to utter “Why me God” but he can’t because He is blown away by God’s very presence and Isaiah’s utter failings and sin. In response to his damning pronunciation one of the Seraphim flies over and brings a coal from the altar of the Lord and touches Isaiah’s lips. Isaiah is purified of his sins and is finally able to respond to a question that God then asks; ” Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” Isaiah doesn’t say “pick someone else“, nor does he say “why me?“, but rather he simply says, “Here I am, Lord send me.” (Isaiah 6:1-8)
What happens when God calls us?
What is our response to His holy calling? Our response ought to be similar to Isaiah’s response “Here I am, Lord send me!” There might be times when we doubt. There might be times when we feel like asking “Why me God?” Yet when He calls to us and asks something of us, even despite our doubts, the appropriate response is “Here I am, send me!”
This response is a dangerous response. It is a response that says, “Lord I’m going to trust you fully“. It’s a response that says “despite the places and the people you send me to I will go!” Yet the journey will be rewarding…not always but in the long run so very much more rewarding than refusing to go. We aren’t forced to go where God tells us to go. Nor are we robots in our decisions. God listens to us and to our concerns. He hears our worries and our desires. Faith leads us into a deeper relationship with God. Faith helps us to realize that His plans are perfect, He can use us and we can be worthy of His calling.
What will our response be to His calling? Will it be “Why me God?” Or will it be “Here I am, Lord send me!”
Pastor's Ponderings 