Why did this happen to me?

“Some were laughed at and beaten. Others were tied up and put in prison. They were killed with stones. They were cut in half. They were killed with swords. The only clothes some of them had were sheepskins or goatskins. They were poor, persecuted, and treated badly by others. The world was not good enough for these great people. They had to wander in deserts and mountains, living in caves and holes in the ground.”
Hebrews 11:36-38 ERV

Our pastor is about 6 months into the book of Hebrews. This was a verse from Sunday that may be the most important thought I have had lately. I had written about it yesterday morning and the IPad deleted it when I finished it. I always think that this is the enemy trying to delete a powerful message so I will try again. 

These verses were written about faithful saints...not the wicked. Let that thought sink in. This was taken from the "faith" chapter. How many times have you thought "why is this happening to me?" How often have you thought that the suffering that you are experiencing is unfair because you are a follower of Christ? We have this erroneous thinking that God owes us blessings because we are living right. On the contrary, with Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father, there are decisions made in heaven that confound us but should never cause us to lose our faith in the wisdom of God. 

The power of these verses is wrapped around this truth...heaven is NOT here on earth. These saints believed that their extreme joy was waiting for them in heaven and not on earth. A death, an illness, a divorce, a job loss, a wayward child are not a cause to doubt the love of a Heavenly Father. God has the best plan for us. You can't always understand it but you can trust him. His promises are ultimately seen and experienced in heaven. 

“God was pleased with all of them because of their faith. But not one of them received God’s great promise. God planned something better for us. He wanted to make us perfect."
Hebrews 11:39-40a ERV