I was asking what had happened to him and how he as feeling. As he was finishing his story he started to cry and in an almost pleading way asked, “What did I do wrong? Why did this happen to me? It didn’t happen to anyone else in my unit.” Again and again through sobs he asked, “What did I do wrong?” I assured him that I did not think that he had done anything wrong that brought about this injury. He and I didn’t discuss it, but we all know that each and everyone of us have done many things wrong. Just as the Bible says in Romans, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23. Of course, as his was crying I was trying to think of what I could say to him to encourage him about this apparent injustice that had befallen him. I knew that this was not the time to get into a many hour discussion about how we are punished, who gets punished, and when we will be punished for our less than admirable deeds. Obviously, many people feel that anything that happens to them that is bad is a result of “bad things” they have done. I am pretty sure that this man was genuinely confused. I would imagine that he thought that although he wasn’t perfect, that all in all, he was not doing that bad. He was serving his country in the military and not complaining about being in Iraq.

What could I encourage him with? The verse that came to mind was Jesus speaking about His father in Matthew 5:45 “….He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends the rain on the righteous and the unrighteousness.” The chaplain was listening to me as I shared this and as I quoted this verse to the soldier he joined me. I explained that this verse from the Bible showed that bad things happen to both the good and the bad. I then said to the soldier that the chaplain would be here so he could talk some more about his feeling. How I wish I didn’t have so many other patients to see, so I could have spent more time with him.

What else do I wish that I could have said to him? I really wanted to get into a long discourse of how I believe often God allows suffering for our eternal benefit. The verses that come to mind are from the book of Peter. 1 Peter 4:19 “So then, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” 1 Peter 5:10 “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”

Once again I think it comes down to trusting in a faithful Creator doing what is best for our eternal interests not just our temporal interests.

To me the question for all of us is this: “Do we trust God when the rockets of life blow up and injure us?”

Soli Deo Gloria