God, Do You Care?
By: Jen Allee
Raise your hand if you have ever questioned what God is doing in your life.
Okay. Now that we are all on the same page, let’s talk about it. When our circumstances go sideways, we tend to ask God why. But underneath that query is something deeper. The disciples voice it clearly in Mark 4.
Remember when the disciples were gripping the sides of a flailing boat while Jesus was sound asleep and seemingly oblivious? They shook Him awake and pointedly asked Him, “Teacher, don’t You care if we drown” (v. 38)?
Did you catch it? Those three little words: Don’t. You. Care.
At the heart of our confusion, we wonder if God cares. Surely if He cared about me, He wouldn’t have allowed that to happen, right?
We equate our circumstances with God's love for us. And that is a slippery slope.
In Romans 8, Paul speaks directly to the topic of suffering and God’s love. He was no stranger to anguish and adversity, yet he had learned to not be defeated by it. What was the key?
Throughout the chapter, Paul doesn’t shy away from life throwing us curveballs. Painful ones. He doesn’t “Pollyanna” his way through them and only focus on the positive. In fact, in Romans 8:36 he quotes a psalm to describe how hard it can be:
“For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
Though Paul only captures a slice of Psalm 44, if you read it in its entirety, you will easily note that the psalmist felt abandoned. He wondered, “God, Do You care?”
But as bookends to that troubling Old Testament verse, Paul communicates absolute confidence and conviction in this matter. Before he quoted it, he states that nothing can separate us from His love. Afterwards, he claims we are conquerors over it!
But, how?!
Suffering does not defeat us as long as we know that one day, we will defeat it. Revelation 21:4 confidently forecasts that one day “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.”
When we come face-to-face with Jesus, our present sufferings will pale in comparison to what will be revealed once He makes sense of it.
Paul had this mindset.
That’s why he said, “In all these things [our present hardships], we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). We conquer suffering when we understand His great love for us. Circumstances don’t determine God’s love for us. Rather, we must focus on how He has loved us already.
Paul reminds us in Romans 5:8 that “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” In other words, God already displayed the depth of His care before difficulty ever arrived on our doorstep. Circumstances don’t negate His love.
Paul ends Romans 8:37-39 by reminding us that neither death nor life (and a host of other things) can separate us from the fact that one day we will not carry this ache in our hearts. One day it will be over. One day we will see the good that came from it. One day there will be joy.
So, yes, God cares about you. Your circumstances don’t, but He does. Hang on, my friend. Lean into the love that will one day bring your hardship to an end.
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Whispers from the Waves
By: Connie Fink
Sh-h-h, do you hear something stronger than the whistle of the wind at the beach, and louder than the roar of the ocean waves? Do you hear whispers from God? From His creation? From His heart? Stand in awe that He included you in His design. Our majestic Creator. “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? … O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:3-9, NIV)...
Soul Refreshment
ROMANS 8:35-37 (TLB)
“Who then can ever keep Christ’s love from us? When we have trouble or calamity, when we are hunted down or destroyed, is it because he doesn’t love us anymore? And if we are hungry or penniless or in danger or threatened with death, has God deserted us? No, for the Scriptures tell us that for his sake we must be ready to face death at every moment of the day…but despite all this, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loved us enough to die for us."
Lessons from the Heart of God
By: Kimberly Cotton
I’ve often heard that life happens. Sometimes it’s easy to digest. Other times it becomes a hard pill to swallow. If I’m honest, it’s often screaming at me as I go about my day-to-day routine. Yet, there are moments in which God’s voice is still and clear. So I need to get into the habit of going through life asking questions like: What is God teaching me during this season? What am I facing? What am I avoiding? And, while the answers may vary, we serve a God who does not. Paying attention to God’s voice along the way will ensure that we don’t miss His lessons…
Heavenly Father, in moments of challenge and uncertainty, I humbly come before You, intentionally surrendering my will to Yours. Grant me the strength to embrace Your will in my life, even when it’s difficult. Help me to trust in Your wisdom and sovereignty, knowing that Your plans for me are filled with purpose and goodness. Lord, when faced with hardships and obstacles, grant me the perseverance to walk the path You’ve set before me. May Your Spirit guide me to find peace and joy in submitting to Your divine plan, even when it diverges from my own desires. In moments of doubt, fill my heart with faith, and in moments of struggle, grant me the resilience to persevere. As I embrace Your will, may Your grace be my sustaining force, and may I find solace in the knowledge that Your ways are higher than my ways. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.