Have you ever asked yourself, "Why me?" For whatever reason have you ever said, why did I get the short end of the stick? What did I do to be punished like this? Why does everyone else get a break but me? Why did I get cursed with cancer when there are worse people than I? What hardship, misfortune, or a health crisis are you facing that you want the "why me" answers to? Where do we start? First, are you aware these type of questions within ourselves are actually a spiritual inquiry? Think about it! Who are you really asking? God! He holds all the answers and His answers to everything lies in His Word.
Mistakenly, people have a tendency to evaluate and judge their own behaviors by measuring the behaviors and actions of others. For example, we might attribute certain flaws in others as the very measuring stick to excuse our own imperfections! When we judge someone's actions as worse than our own then comes the "why me" when we are struck with tragedy. Understand, God does not measure sin by its severity. Read that again. Man does that! God does not. Sin is sin in God's eyes. Stealing is not more severe than rape, nor murder more than extortion, or sexual perversion more than using God's name in vain. A thief who has been caught stealing $500.00 or $5,000 is guilty of theft, and theft is a sin. Period. James 2:10 is saying, Whoever obeys and keep the whole law, yet screws up in one point, he is guilty of disobeying all the laws. For Jesus who said, "Do not commit adultery, yet even if a person never commits the sin of adultery but commits murder, he has become a transgressor of the law and is just as guilty if he broke every law in the book." Why? Adultery or murder, all is transgression. Big or small, all is wrong. GOD SIMPLY JUDGES TRANSGRESSIONS NOT DEGREES OF IT! The Bible tells us in Matthew 5:45, "It rains on the just and the unjust alike." God's love, provision, and even judgment extends to everyone, regardless of their moral standing.
By this we know, a person's behavior (good or bad) does not exempt us from tragedy or misfortune. Man creates his own bad luck through tragedy, adversity, hardships, etc. It's not God punishing you and overlooking the sinful person who breaks all the rules. EVERY result, mishap, disease, illness, disorder, bad-luck, misfortune, problem, difficulty or issue originates from us! Think that through. I had a lady really get angry with me regarding this subject. She snapped, "So you mean to tell me my husband purposely gave himself cancer? You're crazy." I asked, "Did he smoke? Did he abuse alcohol? Did he often dine at McDonalds or any other fast food restaurant? Did he consume a lot of sugar? We cause our own illnesses and if not purposely, then look into genetics." She was silent. Personally, I was no angel growing up either. I've committed sins I am not proud of. But I changed! From age 40 I came to Christ with my sins, repented, and began a new change.
Life was great!! Great until 15 years later and learned I have a disease that destroys the myelin sheath around the nerve fibers in my body. Without that protection, my muscles could not and cannot receive messages from my brain to move and function properly. Peripheral nerves are now damaged throughout my body. I went from stumbling, to tripping, to falling, to a cane, then a transport chair, wheelchair, electric wheelchair, to a hospital bed unable to walk, sit up on, roll over, or move on my own. Numbness has resulted in paralysis in several areas of my body. "Why me, Lord?" Did I ask that? You bet I did. And I was sure to remind Him of many more people much more "evil" than I ever could even imagine being so why was I being punished especially after giving my life, soul, heart, and mind to Him. God wasn't punishing me while "real sinners" (I thought of them) got away with everything. No, my disorder is GENETIC. It's called Charcot, Marie, Tooth disorder (CMT for short), and named after those three doctors who discovered it. Basically, it's a screw up in a gene or chromosome caused by a mutation. I inherited mine from my dad. So see, God was not punishing me for past sins. My problems are simply a genetic flaw.
You may ask, when you were diagnosed didn't you get mad at God? My answer is no. But I did cry because up to the point of being totally disabled, I was a very active woman ... taking care of house repairs, mowing, weed-eating, gardening, swimming, hiking, camping, traveling every 3 weeks to a new place etc. Now, I have very little movement left. In fact, I have one index finger remaining that isn't completely numb I'm typing this blog with. It will take about 4 hours to complete writing. Recent discoveries have shown CMT can now move to the internal organs affecting heart, lungs, digestion, bowels. You can guess where that might lead. Am I bitter? No. Mad at God? No. When I gave my life to Jesus, I was given the promise of eternal life, a new glorified body free of disease, and the promise of an eternity with Him that will surpass anything we can imagine. This life is short and temporary. I'm preparing for the next!
Until He Comes.
-Pat-
