Why Me, Lord?

June 25, 2009 02:52 pm

— In one of my favorite gospel songs, Kris Kristofferson asks the question, “Why me, Lord? What have I ever done to deserve even one of the blessings you give?” It’s a song about the amazing grace of God — about all those gifts that are given to us that we didn’t earn or deserve. That grace begins with the gift of life itself — it is just laid in our laps by God to use and enjoy.
When our lives don’t measure up and we squander our opportunities, God welcomes us home and offers the chance to begin again ... and again ... and again. No matter what, God in his determined love never gives up on us. If we take an honest look in the mirror and then reflect on God’s blessings, we have to ask, “Why me, Lord?”
On the other hand, there’s another way that we ask the question, “Why me, Lord?” It’s the query of Job and the Psalms. It’s the question we ask in the face of our pain, loss, misfortune and tragedy — especially when it’s something we didn’t cause or deserve.
When bad things happen to good people — us — we grope for some light in the midst of our darkness. We cry out as though our suffering would cease if we could just make some sense of it all. But even answers sometimes don’t relieve the anger and pain behind the question, “Why me, Lord?”
Sometimes we get the false idea that it’s only appropriate for believers to ask, “Why me, Lord?” about grace and not about pain and suffering. It may seem more respectful to marvel at our undeserved blessings than to question the painful losses we sustain.
However, a careful examination of the Biblical witness reveals that our spiritual ancestors have always asked, “Why me, Lord?” in both ways. It’s because both questions originate from our faith in God and his love — one out of our awareness of God’s gracious presence, the other out of our puzzlement at his seeming absence.
Jesus understands our sorrow and forsakenness. In agony on the cross, he cried out with the words of the Psalmist, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” But his next and last utterance was the bedtime prayer from his childhood, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” With his words and life, even as he dies, Jesus shows us the way!
When we ask, “Why me, Lord?” — whether in amazement or anguish — the refrain of Kristofferson’s song is a fitting prayer: “Lord, help me Jesus, my soul’s in your hands.” Amen.
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John Paul Carter’s “Notes from the Journey” appear in the Democrat’s Religion page on the second and fourth Fridays of each month. Carter, an ordained minister who attends Central Christian Church, may be contacted by writing him at 107 Bent Oak Road, Weatherford, 76086.