2 Corinthians 1:3-7

“All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. So when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your benefit and salvation! For when God comforts us, it is so that we, in turn, can be an encouragement to you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in suffering, you will also share God’s comfort.” NLT

There have been written a number of books over the past few years dealing with the idea of why bad things happen to good people. In a sense, it is the idea of “why me?” for believers. Why should believers, who love the Lord, suffer? I think that perhaps, as believers, when we ask that question—“Why me?”—we are asking the wrong question. We should be asking instead “Why not me?”

Suffering is the one of the universal guarantees of living in this world. Even those who have (supposed) wealth, ease, and fame are often unhappy and their reaction to life demonstrates some kind of suffering and pain. We often hear of celebrities divorcing, abusing drugs and alcohol, even committing suicide. On the surface their lives might appear to be ones of happiness and comfort and yet, they too use horrible things to try to mitigate their pain, their suffering. Stories abound of people suffering from illness, from accidents, from the hurtful acts of others, from abuse, from neglect, from loss.

Our son is a soldier in the U. S. Army. His second year of service was spent in the streets of Baghdad, driving a Humvee as a combat MP. One time his truck was attacked with an I.E.D. People often asked me how I could deal with the stress and worry of having my son serving in a war zone. Aside from the fact that he is a believer, perhaps it’s because I’m learning to ask “Why not me?” rather than to ask “Why me?” There are families who are losing their sons and daughters everyday to war and violence: mothers in South Central L.A. whose children are killed by gangs, parents whose children are killed by drunk drivers, grandparents whose grandchildren are killed by abortion, and yes, parents whose soldiers are killed in the service of their country. Rather than assume that I should somehow be the exception to the rule (and ask “why me?”), I’m learning to ask “Why not me?” There are other families whose soldiers have been killed. Why shouldn’t that also happen to our family is that is the Lord’s will?

Now, it’s not that I want our wonderful son to die, but more the facts that suffering does happen and will happen to us throughout our lifetime and that death comes to all living things until God recreates the earth. Rather than trying to avoid what is woven into the fabric of this life, I choose instead to trust the Lord for the comfort to endure the suffering that will come my way. And even more, to trust God that there is a point, a purpose to the suffering.

“For when God comforts us, it is so that we in turn, can be an encouragement to you.”

I think that we are often so self-centered in our lives that we fail to realize that some experiences we endure are for the purpose of training us in how to comfort others later. While we can love all those around us, it often takes a shared experience for us to comfort those who are in pain. When we reject the experiences that God permits (and even places in our paths), we may be also rejecting the very tools that allow us to be more effective witnesses and ministers in the world.

Paul once talked about his “light afflictions” (2 Corinthians 4:17). He outlined them (in part):

“I have worked harder, been put in jail more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jews gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea” (2 Corinthians 11:23b-25 NLT).

While there may be worse sufferings in the world, the fact is that few of us have suffered to the depth that Paul suffered. And yet Paul wasn’t one to dwell morosely on the pain in his life, but rather took those experiences and understood them in the context of eternity. After all, whatever promotes the kingdom of God and brings us one step closer to seeing His dear face is truly worth it.

“It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ.”
(“When We See Christ” by Esther Kerr Rusthoi)

© 2008 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. International copyright reserved. This study may be copied for nonprofit and/or church purposes only without permission when copied in its entirety (including this notice).