I was driving home from campus on Easter weekend, and the traffic was a little heavy. I was kicking it in the fast lane along with a line of cars trying to get around a herd of semi-trucks. Then, one of the trucks decided to make a move and cut over right in front of me. Normally, I’m OK with that, except it always seems like trucks take forever to pass other trucks, and I really wanted to get home. I remember thinking, “Why me? Of all the cars!” In that instant, the Spirit of the Living God revealed that I left room for him to. There was just enough room in between me and the car in front of me that gave the truck driver a nonverbal cue to throw his blinker on and come over.
I couldn’t help but to think of all the times I’ve asked God, “Why me?” Times where I was struggling to find delight in the days He gave me. Times when it seemed like nothing was going my way and left me wondering, “Why me, God?” But then again, the answer is simple. I left room for sin to cut me off. I want to be very clear, here, that I’m not talking about facing trials. Trials are biblical, and we are instructed to find joy in them because it produces endurance of faith (James 1:2-3). The times I found myself asking, “Why me?” were when things like my relationships were suffering or my school work. Interpersonal things rather than inner personal things. I focused way too much on satisfying all the people in my life that I left out the one who satisfies me.
By putting interpersonal relationships before my personal relationship with God, I gave sin that nonverbal cue to throw its blinker on and come right on over. I created space for sin to seep in, and, like freezing water, that sin began to expand and widen the gap. But (I love that word), God never forgot me.
There’s a beautiful picture in Isaiah 58:11, “The Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” As I began to refocus on God, His fiery love thawed out the deadly ice in my heart, and then (here’s my favorite part) He used the water to create something beautiful in me.
Friends, if you ever wonder why something is happening to you, then first of all, understand that you’re not alone. Someone has been there and gotten the t-shirt or is going through it at the same time. Secondly, cling tight to the promises of God. Ask God to fill the gaps in your life. It was when I valued worldly things over my God that I felt empty, so I warn you to hold tightly and leave no space for sin to cut you off. “For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” (Hebrews 3:14)
