Regardless of What We May Think, God Knows Best

Why Did this Happen to Me?

Part 2 – Regardless of what we may think, God knows best.

After receiving the news of her passing, God gave me two responses to the question “why did this happen to me?” The first response is “Regardless of what we may think, God knows best.” Before I expound on what God was saying to me, I need to take you back in time a bit.

About a decade ago, I met Americus Hodge. I was not only serving as a volunteer at the church she attended, but also on staff there. Americus volunteered at the church as well and did so faithfully. It was rare that she missed a service. She somehow-even in my unwillingness to allow it-found comfort in my arms, literally. She was one of the few persons I’d let get close enough to me to get makeup on my suit. Americus, till her passing, remained the only person on earth besides my wife and daughter who could intentionally mess up my “church clothes.”

What I have found is that church people have a nasty habit of accessing God’s people by what they see on the outside; and Americus didn’t make this any better. She had what church folk call residue. For those of you who don’t know what residue is, I’ll explain. Residue is that stuff you have on you when you become a Christian that should come off shortly thereafter. You know there are just certain things you can no longer do when you come to Christ like lie, drink, party, sleep-around, etc. Let’s just say she was saved, but…

Back then Americus had a lot of residue. For example, when I needed someone to “cuss” out someone giving me issues, all I had to do was call Americus-Schelle that is. She’d love to do it for me. You know what I mean, residue!

I’m sure you know people dealing with this residue; I tried my best to act as if Americus didn’t have any. There were times, however, I limited her visits to our home even though we were her closest relatives. You all may think I am kidding but she could only come to the house twice a year because twice a year of her residue was all the residue I could handle.

Whose residue are you putting too much emphasis on?

Jesus, in the middle of teaching one day, because that’s what preachers do, was confronted by the church congregants with a woman who was caught in her residue. Instead of condemning her, like we find in many places, He reminded the accusers of their residue. To Americus’- I mean the woman’s surprise, her accusers left and Jesus, her savior, your savior, says to this woman “go your way and leave the residue behind”. Notice He said this after rescuing her. Notice it wasn’t a prerequisite to get to Jesus; it was a result of Jesus. I can honestly say, Americus taught me to look past the outer layer and focus on the heart. I know this is getting good, but I need to get back to the question of “why did this happen to me.”

Regardless of what we might think, God knows best.
Now, I’ll fast forward a bit. Three years ago God asked me to do something I’d never done before. I recorded it in my journal which dates back to July 19, 2012. He asked me to call Americus every morning. I asked God, “why” me? Why do I have to call anyone every morning? We bargained a bit and finally settled on me calling Americus as a part of my work routine. Why did this happen to me? So each workday morning at 7:10 she received a call from me to pray with her. I did this whether I wanted to or not and whether she wanted me to or not. Today, I have the answer to Americus’s question, “why did this happen to me?” He knows best. He was looking into her future to this day and beyond just as He is looking into yours.

The reason why…
God knows best. Isaiah 57:1 (NLT) reads “…the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder… why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come.”

• the godly often die before their time.
• no one seems to wonder why.
• No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come.

Listen to this, the righteous or godly die before their time [Americus] to be protected from the evil that is coming their way.

Why did this happen to me?
God knew when I met Americus 10 years ago that we’d form a bond, an unusual and to some, a strange relationship. A relationship no one else would understand; not even me. It was simply uncommon. He knew that three years ago, she would need to be supernaturally comforted because of what she was going to face. God aligned a daily prayer regimen with Americus, that same person with the residue. In the face of cancer, God was protecting her from what was to come.

I want you to know that even in your life-whether you believe in Him or not, He does know best.