What? It’s Not About Me?

By Charlotte Riegel –

The audience at the live theatre production of The Book of Jobes, was challenged to consider why bad things sometimes happen to good people. The play was based on the true story of a woman born with cerebral palsy.

It began with the young woman standing before the courts of heaven pleading her case to take her life because frankly, she’d had quite enough of the misery. The various scenes skipped through her life of challenges, and indeed, most of the audience could empathize with her plea to ‘be done already with all this misery’.

Nevertheless, each time she presented another grievance to the presiding judge of heaven, she was reminded of God’s provision for her during that trial. His comfort and guidance usually came in the form of another person….a classmate in grade school, a college professor; and always her mother was there supporting her, encouraging her, and believing in her daughter, convinced God had not made a mistake.

The final ordeal of her life, an assault, brought her to the point of ‘I can’t take any more of this, God. Please remove me from this earthly hell.’ An intruder into her apartment left her body and spirit battered and bruised, lying on the floor beside her wheelchair.

Frequently throughout the story’s telling, the ‘judge’ confronted her with, “You have so much to say and you know so little.” Near the end of the performance he asked, “Whose prayer would you have God answer?” She then silently, slowly, maneuvered throughout the many different characters on stage, not the least being the young man who assaulted her. Quietly she studied all their faces, and finally returned to face the judge not knowing how to answer his question. His final words to her were, “Maybe it’s not about you.”

At his trial, the young man who assaulted her confessed his intention had been to rob and kill her, however, while in her apartment beginning this deed he saw a very bright light and fled in fear. He was caught and sentenced to time in prison. His trial revealed a very troubled childhood including abandonment. He had become a fugitive. Perhaps it was his encounter with this disabled young woman that began his journey to healing and restoration.

Audience members left the play asking questions like, “When I feel hard done by and think God has dealt me a bad hand is He actually wanting me to influence someone else for His Kingdom by shining His light into their world?” “Is God using me for His greater purposes of which I am blissfully unaware?”

Yes, indeed, I often whine and complain and say too much when I know so little about the big picture. Please forgive me, Lord. I desire to shine Your light into the lives of others.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV).