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

How to Handle Our Problems

Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” (2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV)

If you do not spend time in the Old Testament, especially 2 Chronicles, you will miss some powerful truths about how to handle your problems.
Jehoshaphat was facing an impossible situation. The Moabites and the Ammonites were about to destroy them. The entire country came before the Lord to pray. And God answered.

You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’ ” (2 Chronicles 20:17 NIV)

Often we wish we could have a prophet to speak truth into our lives like the kings of the Old Testament. If we could hear someone tell us that the battle would be successful, we would stop feeling so panicked about the war we are facing. We would march forward with confidence.

But there are many times when we do hear from someone and they are speaking truth and we just don't want to hear the truth. We want a different game plan. Especially a plan that lets us get a lot of the credit. A plan that involves us being the hero of the story.

And we would miss the result of letting God get the glory.

When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. (2 Chronicles 20:24-25 NIV)