“For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’.” (Hebrews 13:5)
All of us wonder from time to time if God really cares about what’s going on in our lives. Why? Because there are those occasions in life when “life” seems to be crashing down on us. We live for the Lord and when things go awry, we seek his comfort and his guidance. We pray, but nothing seems to come of it. “Where is He?” We wonder.
I confess I have had those same thoughts. Jesus once had them, too…as a man who was dying on the Cross for our sins. Remember when the Son of Man was on the Cross and said, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)
There are those who believe God gets out of the way while we’re here on earth and just lets things happen. They are called Deists. Thomas Jefferson was said to be a Deist. Deists do not believe in the inerrancy of Scripture or supernatural miracles. They believe that God created us to work things out for ourselves. All the tools are here that we need. He doesn’t intervene in human affairs or suspend the natural laws of the universe.
The God we believe in is not the God of the Deism. He is not aloof to what is going on in our lives. The Bible teaches that “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Notice the word, “Now”. There is great meaning in this verse for moments like I have described. When the world is crashing down on us, NOW is the time to exercise our faith; to believe in the impossible; to believe that God loves us enough to supernaturally intervene in what is going on in our lives.
How do we get from “God doesn’t care” to “Now is the time”? We have to turn to Scripture. God has put real stories in the Bible to remind us how much he cares. When Jesus walked on the water, Peter followed. But when he took his eyes of Jesus, he sank like a rock.
From this scripture, we learn these lessons:
Lesson #1: Keep your eyes on Jesus. He died on the Cross because he cared for us. He still does.
Lesson #2: Always remember that God is no respecter of persons. The Apostle Paul wrote at Romans 2:11, “For there is no partiality with God”. While it may seem that others prosper and we do not, it has nothing to do with God’s love for us. Jesus’ atoning act of the Cross is for everyone who calls upon his name!
Lesson #3: is God brings pain and suffering to us to strengthen our faith, not to question it. I have a personal testimony here to make my point. I have never been a fan of going to the altar to ask for prayer. My pride wouldn’t allow me to do it. Several years ago, however, I gave in when the only answer to numbness in my left thumb was surgery. I asked my Pastor to pray for healing, and in that moment, I believed that God could do it. I realized I had to put my pride aside and humble myself before God would move in my life. God healed my thumb. The cyst is still there but the feeling is back.
Read and listen to Jesus’ response to his disciples about why they could not heal the epileptic he just healed: “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)
There are many other answers to the questions we have about God in times like these. Open your Bibles and you will find the answers to restore your faith. God really does care about what is going on in your life.
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