Article November 13, 1989 Issue

Why did this happen to me?

It's only logical to wonder why something unjust or unfair has come into our lives. But we need to go beyond the wondering to healing the condition.

Patricia Hofer Holmes

When something untoward—usually unpleasant—has happened, I, like most of us, have asked, "Why me?" Sometimes we may even say, "Why me, Lord?" as we cast around looking for the cause of our difficulties. But isn't it true that we need to go beyond this question if we are to free ourselves from these miserable times?

First of all, it might help to realize that this "why me?" question isn't as innocent as we might think. Couldn't it really be a subtle attempt to shift the blame for our problems from ourselves to someone or something else—to God, to fate, to those around us?

Christ Jesus confronted a "why me?" situation once. Just before he healed a man who had been born blind, his disciples asked him, "Who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus didn't get involved with this "who's to blame?" type of thinking. He said, "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."^{ See John 9:1–7.}

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