Why Me, Lord? Why Me?

{Written by Johanna Rose}

Have you ever found yourself inquiring of the Lord why he chose you for the task at hand? I certainly have. So many times, I find myself asking, “Lord, why would you choose someone such as I? Why would you choose someone so very insignificant, and small, in order to accomplish such an important task, and fill such a huge roll?? What on earth were you thinking, Lord??? I find myself so inadequate for the task.”
   Similarly, I find that I often ask the Lord why he chose others for great tasks. Why would He choose someone, whom I consider to be small, week and unable, to accomplish something that I know to be very important. Why?

   Thoughts like these, I am sure, have gone through each and every one of our minds. It is in our nature to want to know exactly why things are the way they are. We forget that He is in control – we disremember that He actually did choose us – and we fail to recall that He chose us for His own special reasons.

   Recently, I came across the book “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien, and found that once I had begun browsing its contents, I realized that it was nearly impossible for me to put down.

   In Chapter One of ‘The Hobbit’ many things are portrayed. We meet Bilbo Baggins, who is a kind-hearted little hobbit, who shares the same traits which most hobbits possess; good natured, clean and tidy, hospitable, food-loving, neighborly, caring, and of course, a homebody – which naturally leaves us with the knowledge that Bilbo is not partial to adventures.

   Bilbo lives in a hole in the hill – “Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit hole, and that means comfort.” {Excerpt from Chapter one of The Hobbit} He has everything that a hobbit could want. He is perfectly happy with his circumstances, and has no desire to have anything change. However, one afternoon, as he is happily smoking his rather-large-pipe, Gandalf drops by. After a short encounter, Bilbo has a feeling that change is in the air, and sure enough, the next day, we see that Gandalf has chosen him for a special task; and before Bilbo knows what has happened, he has embarked upon the last thing that he would have ever wanted to enter upon; an adventure.
   While I continued to read, I observed that Bilbo has strong doubts about himself. He finds that he is not fit to be an ‘expert burglar’, he believes himself to fall short of what Gandalf requires of him, and he questions whether he will be able to accomplish what is asked of him – or if he will even make it back to his little home – in the Shire – alive. Why would Gandalf choose him, rather than someone more able?

   Not only do we find that Bilbo himself has doubts about whether he is right for the task, but we also perceive that Bilbo’s traveling mates – thirteen dwarfs – have similar doubts as to whether Bilbo was the right choice. At one point, Gloin ask Gandalf exactly why did he choose this particular little hobbit. But Gandalf returns his enquiries by saying; "There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself."

   When reading this, it made me ponder why Gandalf did choose Bilbo Baggins. What did he see in him? What made him so sure that Bilbo was, indeed, the right choice? Subsequently, after pondering these things, it made me wonder why the Lord chooses certain people for important tasks. And thus, this made me contemplate why the Lord chooses me for certain commissions in life. After reflecting upon these things, I believe that I found the answer to my inquiries.

   I saw clearly that just as Gandalf chose Bilbo – a simple, ordinary, and small hobbit – and used him to defeat evil, and advance the kingdom of truth, it is just so, in how the Lord can use you and I – a humble, commonplace, and delicate young woman – and use us to defeat wickedness, and advance the Kingdom of Holiness for Jesus’ names sake.

   In addition, we recognize from the choices Jesus made, while He was walking the earth, that He was setting an example – a touchstone – for us to look upon and follow.

   If Jesus had chosen princes, priests, prophets, and kings; rather than fishermen, tax collectors, and other mundane men, then we would be left to suppose that only men of higher ranks, such as these, would be able to serve Jesus Christ. Instead, He chose ordinary men, such as James, Peter and Andrew – among others – to become His disciples, in order to show both them and us that He is able to use anyone who offers their lives to the Lord.

   We observe that the Lord chose a commonplace maiden, Mary, for the tremendous joy and responsibility of being the blessed Mother of Christ Jesus. What an amazing occupation! And what an amazing example this is for me, as well as other young woman. To know that the Lord can use just an ordinary girl, for such an incredible task, only leads me to believe that I too can be used as a tool in the hands of my precious Savior, in order to bring glory to Him.
   My very favorite apostle in the scriptures would have to be Paul; who is yet another example of an unlikely man to perform the things of the Lord. While Paul was an anti-Christian at one point in his life, and was set on destroying followers of Jesus Christ, the Lord still saw something in Paul. The Lord showed, through Paul, that there was a lot more in Paul then anyone could see, and a great deal more than Paul could even see in himself.

   Today, reader, maybe you are going through something in your life where you find yourself asking “Why would the Lord choose me for this?” In closing, I would like to encourage you to remember this: the Lord has chosen you for a special reason. He wants to work within you, and transform you into a beautiful creation – fit for beautiful occupations. Let Him work.

Abundant Blessings to you,

~ Johanna Rose ~