Why me?

One question that has no answer is this: Why does God save some and not others? There are debates. The Armenians insist it is up to us, that we must make the choice to believe, but there is much in Scripture that says we do not make that choice without the work of the Holy Spirit in us. For instance, Jesus said:

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:44)

Since all have sinned and fall short, why does God save some and punish others? This is such a conundrum that some decide there is no hell because God can save everyone and God loves the world — so all will be saved. But that is not biblical either.

This is where faith comes in. Faith is trusting God even when we cannot figure out or see what He is doing. He reveals Himself as sovereign and good. Believing that can be a challenge if I use my eyes to built my faith. That is mostly a no-no.

When it comes to punishment, I know what God would do if I got what I deserved, but He also put that punishment on His Son so I am no longer condemned. Yet God has every right to condemn. He has dominion over all and when anyone refuses to obey the law that He has the right to make, those laws would be meaningless without justice. He has provided a substitute to take it for me, but if I refuse that offer, who then would experience the judgment I deserve? No one but me.

 The human heart expects consequences. Sometimes I can be deluded and think my foolish choices will turn out good, but that is folly. Some might delight in ‘getting away with it’ but eventually face the results of making light of the laws of God. The final consequence is standing before His throne and facing His judgment on our lives. Because I know Jesus and know that He died for my sin, I’m not anxious about what He will determine, but there are millions who do not fit that category. And it seems because God did not draw them or choose them. 

This makes no sense to me. Why me? I’ve done nothing to earn or deserve God's mercy. Yet God says this: 

As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory — (Romans 9:12–23)

God is God. He has every right to do as He pleases, and I have no right to find fault, resist His will, or even try to figure out what He is doing unless He reveals it to me. And He has not given reasons for loving Jacob and not Esau, or loving me and not that other person. 

The horrified try to figure out why Abram took Issac up the mountain, but the Bible says he did it because he trusted God to restore his life. Yet even with his deep faith, Abe didn’t guess what would happen. God stopped the sacrifice by offering a substitute. Faith is about trusting God, not knowing for certain why or what or having reasons that make sense.

My conclusion? God picks some but not others according to reasons He has not revealed and I’m to trust Him anyway, even if I don’t understand the why of it.

PRAY: And that is my faith today. Lord, if You surprise me with goodness for no reason I can see, I trust You. If You send hard things for no reason I can see, that might shake me up but it should not. You are God and You do not change. You are always wise and good, Enable me to trust You all the time and no matter what. Amen.

What do I trust the most?

 

It is becoming obvious to me that trials, even small ones, are opportunities to trust God, no matter what is happening, and to be calm because He is in control. This week technical problems are testing my faith. Normally I’ve become upset, even angry, when the Internet is not working, or the television acts up, or my computer hiccups. We had a lightning strike last Friday and I discovered last night that my Pixstar photo display was disconnected from Wi-Fi. It took me an hour to reconnect it. Before that, our TV turned off and would not restart. The server tech gave steps to follow but nothing worked. Then they said they would send a technician in six days. My hubby works from home and uses the web for conference calls. He was dismayed.

For once, I was not upset. I prayed saying, “If this is what You want for us, I accept it. If not, You know what to do.” Within hours, everything was working properly. I don’t know what God did, but realized this morning that the tests were not over. I sat down for devotions and clicked on my Bible software — and it would not open. After a lengthy chat with a service rep and going through several steps to fix it (none worked), I sent them my log files and opened my account online. All is there, but I knew this was another test; would I remain calm trusting the Lord, or get upset and start griping?

Today’s devotional focuses on the last phrase in this verse: “You … are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).

It begins: “Spiritual sacrifices are acts of praise and worship offered to God through Jesus” and I’m thinking in my situation, that means these offerings are offered no matter what else is going on. God is still God and on the throne. He is with me in every situation and has already offered Jesus Christ as a sacrifice on my behalf. That is the important thing, not that everything works properly and life goes smoothly all the time, but that I am a child of God, even part of a holy priesthood. My victory is not that the broken gets fixed but that my heart is at peace because the Lord Jesus Christ is my Savior and my God.

The OT sacrifices had to be perfect lambs, without deformity or blemish and sacrificed in a prescribed manner. This depicts the supreme sacrifice of Christ on the cross. When He died, the veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple split in two. This signifies personal access to God through Christ and after that, those OT animal sacrifices were no longer required.

We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:10–14)

As the devotional says, nothing further is needed for salvation. The spiritual sacrifices that believers offer aren’t sacrifices for sin, but are acts of praise and worship that flow from a redeemed life. They’re the fruit of salvation and are acceptable to God because they’re offered through His Son.

What does this look like in life? It is praising and worshiping God out of a calm assurance that He is who He is and knows what He is doing, that He is taking care of my life and working to transform me into the image of His Son, using all things to do it, even trials, big or small. In the long-term scheme of life, the events of this week are what we often call ‘first-world problems’ and a threat to the good, comfortable life that is a blessing from God — but with the power to draw us into depending on the good life instead of the One who gives it. Trials test me: who or what am I trusting?

PRAY: Jesus, You are my High Priest, my mediator who gives me access to God. Seeking Your will and living in faith and in Your righteousness means sacrificing my old sinful nature — even those I wants that seem good to me. However, I know that I’m called by Your love and blessed so my entire life will be a continuous sacrifice of love, praise, and obedience to You. Thank You for the trials that show me what You want from me, and thank You for producing in me a response of faith and even joy in those trials. You are an incredible Savior and a faithful God who loves me and wants the very best for me.

PONDER: Read Hebrews 10 and be thankful that Christ’s sacrifice was made that I might also sacrifice my life — for the glory of God.