Why Me Lord?

Job 1:1(Read)

1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil.

(NAS)

There is not a soul here today who has not at some point asked, Why? Why, Lord? Why me, Lord? Why did I lose my job? Why did I lose my loved one? Why did I get cancer? Why are my children the way they are? Why can’t I have all the things I need? Why am I so lonely?

The most famous "Why me, Lord?" probably came from the Old Testament character Job. In the Bible story he was like a child who asks, Why? God was like the typical parent who answers, "Because, I said so"!

That may sound typical of many parents, but it doesn’t sound like the Father we worship, does it? That doesn’t sound like the God who suffers with us, who loves us, forgives us.

No wonder Marcion, in the 2nd century, thought there must be two gods described in the Bible. One of the Old Testament and one proclaimed through Christ’s coming in the New Testament.

So what’s the point? Is it wrong to ask questions?

Six-year-old Johnny asked, "Daddy, why is the sky blue?"

"I don’t know, son."

"Daddy, why is the world round?"

"I don’t know, son."

"Daddy, where did God come from?"

"I don’t know, son."

"Daddy, do you mind my asking you so many questions?"

"No, of course not, son. How else are you going to learn?"

Did you ever ask, Why me, Lord? Of course you have. I have. We all have.

Where are you, Lord? Why can’t I find you when I need you? I’ve looked for you in my past, in my future, in my present; I’ve looked into the sky, in the bright lights, in the darkness; I can’t find you anywhere, God.

Would you like me to give you the answer? To tell you why you have trials and tribulations? Well, just think how we ask God why. Let me ask you a why. Why don’t we just let God have control of our lives, and have the hope that he does know best. Nothing can happen to us unless God allows it. If he allows it, it must be what’s best.

In July 2005, two military soldiers, 1st Sgt Thomas Jones and SSG Greg Thompson, wearing their dress blues, paid a visit to a home in White Cloud, Michigan. Their hats tucked under their arms, they knocked on the door. A woman in her mid forties answered the door, and without a word, dropped to her knees and screamed. Her husband came to the door asking what they wanted. 1st Sgt Jones responded, “We are sorry to inform you that your son Michael was killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb. The parents asked them in and proceeded with so many questions. The number one question was, WHY? After a few minutes, they left, but before they did so, the parents were handed an envelope with a check for $100,000.00, their son’s insurance policy. Michael died on his twenty-first birthday.

How do we deal with the radical felt absence of God? What should we say to this family who has been asking God, “WHY did he have to die?”

A Concorde jet roared down a Paris runway carrying 113 passengers and crew. The passengers were German vacationers who had chartered the flight for a rendezvous at New York and an eventual cruise to the Caribbean for the trip of a lifetime. Many had saved for years for this vacation. As it came down the runway a piece of metal no more than a yard long which had fallen off a previous plane and had not been picked up lay in the jet’s path. Apparently, as the Concorde passed over it, the metal was flipped into the air and caught one of the jet’s engines. Immediately the jet was spewing fire. Within ninety seconds all on board were killed in a fiery crash.

Many ask, how could God let a terrible thing like that happen? Why does God allow evil and suffering? If God is just and loving how could God permit his people to be afflicted with needless pain and hardship? And if suffering is simply pointless, what does that say about God? Why bother? This is the most difficult question in Christian theology.

Any time a person attempts to speak about God and human suffering, there is always the risk of irrelevant chatter and platitudes. "It’s God’s will; you must accept it. God never puts more on us than we can bear. God will decide when you shall die." Is this what they want to hear? Is this what Michaels parents wanted to hear? Does this settle their grief? What about all the families affected by that plane crash? How do we answer WHY?