I’ve been reading a lot of books simultaneously lately, as I’m prone to doing, but in preparation for a Bible study tomorrow I read through the book of Job. I’ve read the book of Job a bunch of times, but this particular time kind of struck me. Since I just preached on the book of Habakkuk, I’ve been in this mindset of trying to see our struggles through the eyes of God. Job is a lot like Habakkuk, in that he struggles. He, too, asks a version of the question, “Why me?”
If you’re human (and I’m sure 99% of you are), you’ve undoubtedly asked the question, “Why me?” You’ve gotten to a point in your life, somewhere along the way, where something just didn’t go your way, and you wanted some justification. After all, we all deserve to know why the things in our lives happen, right?
The answer, I believe, lies beneath our own egos, our own self-righteousness, and our own pride. The simple asking of the question, “Why me?” has certain implications. Probably the most profound implication is that we are too inwardly-focused. We try to think of things in our lives we’ve done wrong and line them up side-by-side with the good things that have happened in an effort to balance everything on the scale. But what happens when things don’t balance? When the bad far outweighs the good, while for those around you the good seems to far outweigh the bad? Where is the fairness in that? So we seek to blame someone. Because, again, we believe that we need justification.
What I believe Scripture reveals to us is that there is no answer to that question, because it’s the wrong question. We see through people like Job and Habakkuk that focusing inwardly, to some extent, is pointless. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t pay attention to the person you are and try to better yourself, but when it comes to the point where you’re building up all your good deeds in hopes that you’re going to receive a bountiful blessing of a perfect life, the effort is done in vain. These prophets continuously wondered, asked questions of God, and essentially focused on the problems they were having.
So what does this mean for us? What should we then do? I think that we should realize that Christ never taught evangelism for your own sake, but for the sake of other people. I think we can get from this that we shouldn’t be asking “Why me?” but instead be asking, “Why is it about me?” Once you realize that it’s not about you, the true essence of Christianity in you can emerge.
Perhaps at this point I should make a disclaimer: The motivation behind this message is two-fold. First, I believe that I succumb to this prideful attitude more times than not, and second, I’ve witnessed a lot of this in our culture, both in churches and out. That being said, this isn’t to say that God doesn’t care for you or comfort you in times of struggle. This means that God uses those struggles to give you a platform to make a decision: is it all about you or is it about something more? Something bigger? Some greater plan?
One of my favorite helpings of “humble pie” in Scripture is Revelation 3:17 -
You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
While this is a bit of an extreme reference for what I’m talking about, I keep thinking about this, and it becomes increasingly evident that we as individuals aren’t the only victims of this view. It seems like more and more, the church in America is falling into the trap of being more self-invested than interested in the true calling of all Christians – to go forth and make disciples…
If you find yourself in church in the morning, think to yourself – if we closed our doors and tore down the building, would we still be able to be Christians? If the pastor told you that the church is shutting down, what would you do? Would you stay home on Sundays, feeling sorrowful and abandoned, or would you use it as a jumping-off point for real evangelism?
Once you’ve answered that question, I’d like to pose one more: What is stopping you from “shutting down” your own self-interest, and realizing that God’s amazing, unyielding, awesome plan is at work all around you, and your struggles are a part of that?
Be thankful that God allows you to struggle – because without struggle, without pain, you can never know true joy.
Think of it like this: if bought a GPS that would only take you to one location, and the voice giving you the turn-by-turn directions was God’s voice, what do you think would be your destination? Where would you be going? Even if you knew, what paths would you take to get there? Would you take the roads less traveled, or a super-highway? Would you take the road that conforms to culture, or the road that’s so radical that few will brave it? This year, I pray that God will use me to challenge our youth to seek out God’s plan for their lives, the plan that’s been around since before they were around.
