Does God Really Care about Me?

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This may be one of the most important questions that will ever be answered. So many of us have wondered that if there is a loving God out there, why He would not answer our prayers or change our circumstances.

David was a man after God’s own heart, but he asked this question on many occasions. He wrote in Psalm 13:1-2,

“¹ How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? ² How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?”

In a time of great sorrow, David felt like God was not there. That he had been forgotten by God. Was that true? Did God forget David? Of course not, God was and continued to be with David. However, through the challenges he was facing, he felt like he was alone.

Why do you think David believed God had abandoned him?

So Much Heartache

“Does God really care about me” is a question that people have been asking since God created human beings. It is not surprising that this question arises when there is so much hate and destruction occurring.

In addition, many of us face a lot of personal strife. We go through hard times or see terrible things happen to those we love. We pray to God that He will fix the situation or bring about healing and it does not happen. We convince ourselves to believe that He simply does not care.

It is a logical conclusion to make. How could a loving God allow so much turmoil, pain, hatred, death, and wickedness to occur? If He really loved as the Bible claims, why doesn’t He simply wipe away all the pain and suffering and make the world like heaven on earth.

Aways There for You

The Bible tells us that God is always with us. The end of Hebrews 13:5 reads: “for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” This promise from God is reiterated in several other places in the Bible, including in Psalm 37:28 where it reads that He will “not forsake His saints” and in Joshua 1:5 where it says, “I will not leave you or forsake you.”

God declares that He is always with us and will never forsake us, but it is logical to wonder how this can be when terrible things are going on, especially when they are happening to someone who is “innocent.” A small child who gets cancer stirs these types of thoughts as we question God and feel that He is not there.

Have you had thoughts like this in life? If so, what things are likely to make you ask if God cares?

God’s assurance is that He is always there. Not just there, but that He cares deeply for us and wants us to feel confident that we can come to Him with anything that we desire or where we feel challenged.

In Isaiah 41:10, God declared:

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

In one of the most famous passages of the Bible, Psalm 23, God declared in verse 4:

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

Putting Those Two Thoughts Together

God assures us that He is there for us and that He will help and strengthen us, yet each one of us and those we love face incredible hardship. Those two things may seem to contradict each other, but they do not.

The truth of the matter is that you will face hard times. In Psalm 23:4, God did not declare that He would remove us from the pain and suffering. In fact, He assured us that we would encounter fear, hatred, heartache, even death. What He told us is that He would be there with us. That we could encounter the evil around us, and God would be right there with us to lead us through these challenges.

Jesus made it clear that we would face hard times and challenges. In John 16:33, Jesus is talking with his disciples when he told them that “In the world you will have tribulation.” In Romans 8:35, Paul asked the question, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?”

God is declaring to us that nothing can separate us from Him, but it is also important to understand that these verses are proclaiming that you will face tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and much more. You will also face sickness, the loss of loved ones, addictions, hatred, prejudice, oppression, and many other similar types of challenges. However, nothing can separate you from the love of God.

It Really Is for Your Own Good

No one likes to go through hardship. However, it is through those darkest times and biggest challenges that we grow as believers. When we believe that a situation is too overwhelming for us, yet we make it through, then we come to rely on God and realize that His strength is bigger than any challenge we may face.

It is also important to realize that these challenging situations help us to grow. Clichés like “what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger” lose their meaning over time, but there is truth in that statement. More importantly, what God leads you through will only make you stronger in your faith and belief in Him. It will also show you that He does really care for you.

God allows you to go through the challenge, helping you every step of the way, because He sees the big picture. He knows exactly how this is going to strengthen you. He knows exactly how this is going to draw you closer to Him. He also knows that you and He can overcome anything if you put your trust in God.

The ultimate goal of God is for you to build an intimate, personal relationship with Him. He wants you to be close to Him, and it is those dark challenges and seemingly overwhelming experiences that show you that He never left your side.

Romans 8:28 proclaims that “All things work for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.” It may not seem like it at the time, but everything you were going through was for your own good. That means that when you suffer a huge loss or significant injury or illness, God still cares for you and is going to be with you every step of the way to help you endure whatever challenges you may face.

Do you feel like God is with you in your struggles right now?

Your Prayers Are Answered

All Christians become frustrated with God at some point. He understands your frustrations and your sorrows. Keep in mind that Jesus walked the earth as a human being, suffering the same kinds of afflictions and temptations that you do. He watched friends die, his friends betrayed Him, and He saw illness, sickness, and evil flourish. He gets everything that you endure.

This means that when you are praying, asking God to deliver on something important, He understands exactly what you desire and need. He knows you may need more money to pay your bills or healing so that you can work or live longer. He cares about all those things, because He knows that they matter to you.

He also knows what is best for you. The sovereign God of the universe, the Creator of all things, the One who knows everything that has and will occur has a complete picture of what your life is going to look like. This means He is not often going to answer your prayer according to your wishes because He knows exactly what is best for you. That may be tough to take, but God is not ignoring your prayer. He is seeing the big picture, knowing exactly what is right for you, because He works out all things for good in your life, in every situation.

Psalm 139 is one of the most powerful chapters in the Bible because it makes it clear about how God knows and understands you. While the whole chapter is very reassuring, let’s just look at verses 1-6:

¹ O Lord, you have searched me and known me! ² You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. ³ You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. ⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. ⁵ You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

What do these six verses tell you about how God knows you?

What does verse 6 tell you about God’s knowledge and how His decisions are for your own good?

You Cause Your Own Sorrow

We also need to consider an important point. Much of the sorrow and turmoil we face is self-inflicted. We do terrible things, then expect God to remove the consequences of our actions. In essence, we are jumping out of a plane without a parachute, then asking God to make sure that we land safely and without injury.

We get angry at God when He does not bail us out for our offenses. Many have done something that has led to them going to prison or suffering a severe injury. God did not cause that. He did not tell anyone to rob a store or start a fight at the bar. So, why should He be responsible for “fixing” those actions?

We will discuss this in more detail in upcoming lessons, but this type of situation brings up the issue of remorse. Remorse is often defined as acknowledging that one’s actions are wrong and turning away from them. However, true remorse is when you are willing to accept the consequences of what you have done and not make excuses.

Galatians 6:7 says that what a man sows, he reaps. What this means is that when you do good things (sow), you will receive good things in return (reap). A farmer who plants good crops on good soil, who cares for and waters his plants will reap a big harvest. The farmer who does not go out each day to water them will reap a bad harvest. The same is true of your actions. When you do good things, you will reap good things.

Were you ever angry that God did not fix something that you were the cause of?

God Cares about You Greatly

There may be times when you feel like God is not with you, maybe that He does not even care, but the challenging times are not a sign that He has abandoned you. They are surely not a sign that God does not care. Instead, they are a moment when God is looking to mold your character, a time to sand down the rough edges or completely transform you in some instances.

Paul wrote in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Those challenging times may be the opportunity that God is using to transform you and renew your mind so that you come closer to Him and become more like Christ. While they are not pleasant, the good thing is that you have a God who cares about your problems and is with you every step of the way, protecting you, comforting you, and loving you.

Have you had a time when you were struggling through a tough situation and you could feel that God was with you? How did you feel His presence?

 

Bible Passages for the Week:

Monday – Isaiah 41:10

 

Tuesday – Psalm 139

 

Wednesday – Psalm 8

 

Thursday – Matthew 10:30-31

 

Friday – Isaiah 49:15

 

Saturday – Pick a passage from Scripture that teaches about being protected by God during your time when you were questioning of God cares about you.

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