Your Will Be Done

I know what it is to wonder, “Why me?” Likely, we all do.

Why me?

I began asking this question quite innocently as a young child. (What parent doesn’t hear it at least once a day?—or so it seems!). And it periodically made its appearance throughout my young adult years.

As I moved into my married life, “Why me?” became a constant companion.

I screamed it into the darkness after each of my five miscarriages. When our firstborn was whisked off to the neonatal intensive care unit within hours of his birth, the question hung in the tension-filled air.

I choked on it through the tears when our young daughter was diagnosed with a relatively rare genetic syndrome, and then whispered it again when her diagnosis was rescinded and we were left to only guess what was causing her lifelong disabilities.

And it was breathed still while dealing with a son’s learning disabilities and later when the two older ones developed health issues.

Even in the smaller issues of day-to-day living, I find myself wondering why I am the one having to deal with them—as if I am the only one or am the worse off!

Much of my life has been spent lamenting my lot and working to change or better the events in my story. Foolishly, I thought I could script it better than the Orchestrator of Life Himself.

In my ignorance I thought I knew what I needed, what would make me happy and keep me safe. In my human arrogance I believed I knew what was good and what was bad.

Over the past few years, the Lord has revealed to me how dead wrong I’ve been and how my selfishness and doubt has lessened my usefulness to Him.

In Scripture, there are many examples where God allowed an individual to dwell in difficult circumstances, only to use them in powerful ways to further His kingdom. The very thing that looked bad or was hard for the individual turned out to be an amazing blessing and opportunity and, in turn, had a profound effect on history.

What would His story look like if Jacob’s son Joseph had not recognized God’s hand in his circumstances and forgiven his brothers, giving them food to survive the terrible famine?

What would have become of the Jews if Queen Esther had felt it was suicide for her to approach King Xerxes and plead for her people and instead stayed silent?

And what if Mary felt it was too much of a burden to bear the Son of God and politely said, “No thank you”?

Surely God didn’t need these individuals to orchestrate His design for a Savior. Nobody can foil His plans. But each of these people experienced the joy of serving the Lord only to the extent they were willing to trust that He had only good in mind for them, even when it didn’t appear so.

To truly fulfill God’s aim for our life, we must choose to embrace His way as best and not dwell in the valley of “Why me?”

We must believe that although a situation may look hopeless from a human standpoint, God is in control the entire time.

The Author and Perfector of life continues to write His story in spite of our questions and doubts.

But I want to have a role in that script. I want to be a part of His plot. I want to have the faith to say “I am the Lord’s slave …. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38, HCS).

I want to trust!

With the Holy Spirit’s help, my “Why me?” will be daily transformed to “Your will be done!” and I will experience the incredible joy of walking in accordance with the Lord’s perfect plan.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6).

Are there situations in which you are having difficulty trusting the Lord? Do you often ask “Why me”? Try studying the lives of the past heroes of faith, and remember nothing is too big for our God!