The Inevitable Question: Why ME?

I think there comes a point in everyone's life when they stop and begin to question God. It might be due to a tragedy, a death in the family, or a call on your life that you feel there's no way you can carry it out (which is true, you can't do it on your own but through God). Regardless of how it happens you just cry out and begin to ask, "Lord! Why me?"

I began to question God both before and after I received my call to ministry. Short testimony :) I was 18 when I answered God's call to minister the Gospel and began to walk in that calling fresh out of high school. In the fall of 2008 I left home and began my freshman year of college at Howard University. I was completely unaware of the tests that were getting ready to come my way. I was young and I'll admit very naive. I was able to hold my little world together for the first two years (with little turbulence), but my third year was by far the roughest.

My junior year of college I found myself doing things I never desired to do before. I was compromising my witness left and right, or so it seemed. In efforts to fit in I found myself drinking and partying, but in my head I was always asking myself if I was happy doing so. The answer was, "No, I'm not happy! And what do I need to do to get back on track?" One night I found myself on the bathroom floor and hating myself for falling off (especially in spending time in God's word), and pleading with God to just "get me out of this one." I wanted to know why things had gotten so out of hand? Why did he allow me to walk down this path? After every venture outside of His will I would find myself in church the following Sunday, at the alter in tears because I knew that I was neglecting the call on my life.

You want to know what I realized?! God already knew that I was going to have a moment of bumping my head before I saw that He had a better life in store for me. Now it was hard for me to accept God's forgiveness and let go of what I had done. But what was even harder to accept was that I had dropped the ball when it came to witnessing to my friends. The main thing is this: God puts people around us for a reason; it's not by circumstance it is purposed. Since I was not witnessing to the people God had surrounded me with I was not fulfilling my calling. The most important call that a Christian has is to LIVE outloud. 1 Peter 2:9 says, "But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."(NLT; italics are mine) For some we are the only Bible that they will see...what are they seeing/reading when they look at your walk? My prayer since then has been to cover anyone that has fallen away from the safety net of Christ because of my actions, and for another opportunity to show them His love again.

So back to the original question: Why ME?
Often God's response is Why NOT you? Why do you think you're so unfit? Don't you realize that God equips those He calls? What if Moses hadn't listened and accepted the call? Who would have went before Pharaoh? In fact, God fixed the situation up so nicely, like only He can. Since Moses was so concerned about speaking before the people, He allowed Aaron to be Moses' spokesman, so now there was no excuse for Moses not to carry God's message (Exodus 4). There are many other cases throughout the Bible where God shows how He prepares his servants, and they all show that we don't have an excuse! God doesn't call us to do what we're confident in on our own, but He calls us to do things outside of our comfort zone that force us to rely on HIM. Then we begin to walk in Philippians 4:13, "For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." (NLT) I challenge you to stop asking God, "Why me?" and start saying to yourself, "Why NOT me?"

Remember: Matthew 22:14 "For many are called, but few are chosen." (NLT) If God calls you He will prepare you for your mission. If you're unsure of how, then you need to draw closer to Him. Take time to talk to Him DAILY. It's alright to ask Him questions, but be confident in His answer and his decision to call you. God knew you even before you were conceived. He knows us so intimately that He knows every thought we think before it even crosses our minds. Just look at Psalm 139 to see what I'm talking about. Now, who wouldn't trust a God like that? Know that He will prepare you to walk in your calling, no matter what it is! Be encouraged.

God's Servant