Why me Lord? What have I done to deserve this?

Every one of us in some way have encountered pain and suffering- it is part of life. If you are looking for answers for this pain and suffering; if you are asking “Why me lord?” “What have I done to deserve this?” ; then, Job is good book to delve into. 

Job a just man, loses everything including his family in a blink of an eye and is inflicted with skin problems. He finds life a drudgery and sleepless nights thrust him into despair.  His friends tell him that he must have done something wrong and his loss is a chastisement from God. Job does not think so. He believes he is righteous and demands God for an answer for his undeserved suffering. God responds to him by not answering his question but rather by showing him the splendour and majesty of His omnipotence. Job absorbed in the glory of God humbles himself and accepts the suffering.

Pope John Paul II, in his apostolic letter “On the Christian Meaning of Suffering (Salvifici Doloris)” explains that God does not give us an answer directly but we hear the ‘saving answer’ as we “gradually become a sharer in the sufferings of Christ”. He explains that “while it is true that suffering has a meaning as punishment, when it is connected with a fault,” but the “educational value of suffering as a punishment is an invitation of his mercy, which corrects in order to lead to conversion”.  Whereas, undeserved suffering is a test of righteousness like Christ. Human wisdom is not able to explain all the suffering and some suffering is a mystery and we may not understand it.

Job’s story tells us that despite the suffering, he remained faithful to God and when he embraced suffering without demanding anymore explanation, God restores all that he had lost. We may not have all the answers but if we hold on to our faith – hold on to the person of Christ in our pain and suffering we will find the strength to accept the suffering and wait on the Lord.

O soul steeped in darkness, Do not despair, All is not yet lost, Come and confide in your God, Who is love and mercy. (St. Faustina) – SR