2 Samuel 7:18
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?”
Why me? We ask this question in our lives more often than we care to admit. Why is this bad thing happening to me? Why can’t I have the easy life that that guy has? Why am I saddled with this debt, this health problem, this difficulty?
The Bible has some “Why me” questions in it too. Above, we see one of them, a good one. David has just received the promise of God that one of his descendants will rule forever. David has been promised, even if he does not understand it fully, that the Messiah will come from his household. Regardless of how much David understands, we know he grasps that God has made him a major promise, that David’s kingdom will not fall like Saul’s.
So King David asks, “Why me?” He does not, however, ask this question in the way that we often do. David sees the good that God has promised him, and he is amazed. David knows his own heart. David knows his own weakness, his own smallness. He knows that he does not deserve the kindness that God has already shown him. So David asks, “Who am I,” which is just another way of saying, “Why me.”
Add to the mix, please, that David was a hero in so many ways. He fought the giant for the sake of the honor of God’s name. He refused to reach out his hand and destroy King Saul because Saul was the Lord’s anointed. David had danced with all his might in praise of the Lord and joy as he brought the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem. In our minds, if we are not careful, we will think that David had indeed earned his reward. David knew better than us. David knew that he had earned nothing from God. This is why David asks, “Who am I?”
What about you? Are you asking “Why me?” Do you feel that you have received worse than you deserve? Do you feel unfairly treated. Perhaps you have been, but not by God. I have no doubt that you have been wronged by other people around you. I have too. But never has God treated me wrongly. Never has God given me something that is worse than I deserve.
In reality, I should be asking God “Why me” in the same voice of David. Why has God chosen to let me know about Jesus when so many millions, even billions, have never heard his name? Why has God allowed me to be able to read, to write, and to think straight when so many can do none of these things? Why has God allowed me to serve him in his church when I know what a sinner I am deep down inside? Why has God allowed me to have enough food for today when so many people who are so much better than I am are scavenging for every morsel? Indeed, “Why me?”
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Pastor Travis Peterson 