Discouraged by the many problems they face — health concerns, financial struggles, relationship conflicts, emotional turmoil, etc. — many people (even Christians) wonder, “Why is all this happening to me?” The question is brought on by the thought that people who do good things ought to have it easy in life, while people who do bad things ought to have it hard; so, if I’m having it hard, it must be that I’m suffering the consequences of the bad things that I’ve done. But, if that’s the case, how come I don’t remember doing such bad things that I deserve to have all the troubles that I have? Have you ever felt this way?
The right answer is not to list all of the bad things that you’ve done and then conclude that you do, indeed, deserve the difficulties; nor is it to deny the premise by saying that it isn’t true that good things “should” happen to good people and bad things “should” happen to bad people. The right answer is to reverse the question. How come I don’t remember doing such wonderfully good things that I actually deserve to have it as easy as I do? In other words, “Why am I so blessed?” Now, there’s a question that can be answered: only by the grace of God!
“Count your blessings! Name them one by one!” (“Count Your Blessings,” by Johnson Oatman, Jr. – Hymns of Heritage & Hope, #666)
John H. Roller, Hickory, N.C.
Extended Scripture: Deuteronomy 9-10
