Why Me, Lord?

Nov 25, 2025
4 min read

… I am unworthy to be called an apostle… But by the grace of God, I am what I am…

(I Cor. 15:9-10).

Many of us have had moments in life when our pain was so great we looked up to heaven and moaned, “Why me, Lord?” Whether the suffering was caused by sickness, some great loss, or a natural disaster, we desperately wanted to know why this was happening, and why it was happening to me. In this season of Thanksgiving, however, I want to encourage us to ask the same question but in a very different context. “Why me, Lord? Why, oh why, have so many blessings come into my life?” Yes, the real question is not why bad things happen to good people, but why good things happen to bad people! The mystery of grace is deeper than the mystery of suffering.

Think about it. God has blessed us in countless ways and lavished his goodness upon us. Why would he do that? Why would he pour out his blessings on a no-good, low-down, dirty rotten bum like me? This is actually a very good question and answering it will lead to some of the richest spiritual insights you will ever have. So, this Thanksgiving, as you gather around the dinner table and bow your heads to pray before the meal, be sure to include this question in your prayer: “Why us, Lord? Why, oh why, have you lavished your blessings on sinners like us?”

But here’s the deal. You dare not ask God a question like this and then fail to give him the chance to answer! The turkey and dressing can wait as you give the Spirit time to let the answer sink in. We know that God’s blessings have not come to us because we deserved them or because he likes us better than other people! In fact, when we pause to think about it, we realize that we have behaved in ways that merit his judgment and wrath! So, why us, Lord? Why have you been so good to scoundrels like us? The Scriptures give at least three answers to this important question.

God blesses us in order to humble us.

It is sheer arrogance to imagine that the blessings we enjoy are the result of our hard work or Christian piety. God warned his people before they entered the Promised Land: “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth…” (Deut. 8:17-18). Every blessing we possess (health, wealth, talents, relationships, family, etc.) is a gracious gift of God’s unmerited favor. “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (I Cor. 4:7).

God blesses us to lead us to repentance.

“Do you not know,” Paul said to the believers in Rome, “that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Rom. 2:4 RSV). You can tell by the way he framed the question that Paul assumed they had probably forgotten what they should have remembered. Don’t you realize that the purpose of God’s blessings is to make you aware of your egocentrism and willful disobedience? God blesses you in the hopes that his grace will accomplish what his wrath is incapable of doing. His blessings are specifically designed to enable you to see your sinfulness and repent. Didn’t you know that?

God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others.

God’s intention in blessing us is not so that we can be happy and content, as if he were a doting parent intent on spoiling his children. No. He blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others. He wants to pour his grace into the lives of others but needs us to be channels through which his blessings can flow. This is how he explained it to Abraham: “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing…” (Gen. 12:2. Emphasis added).

The old-timers among us will remember the folk singer Kris Kristofferson (1936-2024). A three-time Grammy Award winner, Kristofferson’s music covered a wide range of topics and styles. During a difficult season of his life, he attended a church service where the pastor invited people to come forward if they wanted to receive Christ. Kristofferson did so and had a profound spiritual experience that brought him peace and freedom. To express what had happened in his heart, he wrote the song “Why me?” in 1973. It was perhaps his greatest hit.