Has this thought ever crossed your mind? Maybe it’s in the midst of losing your job. Maybe you’re going through unimaginable heartbreak or grieving the loss of a loved one. And we all know that when it rains, it pours. Painful thing after painful thing just keeps piling up until you hit a breaking point. You cry out to God, “Do you hate me?? Why are you letting all of these things happen to me? Don’t you love me, God? Where are you??”
These questions and feelings of utter dismay have been the cries of countless people all throughout time. Consider King David, who lived thousands of years ago. If you read through the Psalms you will be able to see his desperate cries to God. Cries to rescue him from his enemies, to rescue him from his anguish, to just hear God’s call.
Job, from the Old Testament, also suffered the loss of his entire family in an instant. Along with that, he lost all of his possessions and even his health. In his lowest moments of despair, he cursed the day he was born and cried out to God, undoubtedly wondering what he did to deserve this seeming punishment.
Suffering is nothing new. We live in a world that is broken and is full of sin and death. So unfortunately, suffering is inevitable. But in the darkest moments and deepest grief, please spare just a moment to consider a few things.
God Does Not Hate You
We refer to God as our Father. Rightly so, as He is our Creator and gave us life. Do you think that the One who gave you life did it just so He could make you suffer? We might think, “Maybe I made one too many mistakes and now I’ve fallen out of grace with God. He’s fed up with me and just sends bad things because I don’t matter to Him.” I know it might feel like that sometimes. I myself have asked God that very thing, “Why did you create me if my life is just going to be endless suffering?”
But what good parent would intentionally bring suffering upon their child? More often than not, when a parent sees their child hurting or going through a hard time, their first reaction is to comfort or to fix the problem. God does that too. But the difference with our Heavenly Father is that we cannot physically see or touch Him because He does not have a physical form (John 4:24). So then it becomes much harder for us to know or see that God is there and trying to help us in the midst of our struggles.
We see in Lamentations 3:33 that God does not willingly bring suffering on His creation. But since sin and death are still very much a part of our world, pain and distress are inevitable, even if it was never God’s intention or wish for us.
Why is there Sin and Death?
We might think, “Then why do bad things happen? Why is there so much suffering?” If we just take a moment to really consider the state of our world today, it becomes very clear that God is not the ruler of this world. The devil is. What God who is good, who is holy, who is love, would create a world that looks like our current time? Wouldn’t He have created a paradise with no mourning, pain, or death?
We saw in the Garden of Eden, that Satan was able to deceive God’s people. Through deception, he succeeded in getting them to disobey God (Genesis 3:1-6). They chose the serpent’s lie over God’s truth. And because of that, sin entered into the world. And since then, Satan has continuously been able to infect God’s creation with sin – and sin ultimately leads to death.
The Poison of Sin
Since we’re born into this sinful world, we’re unable to escape sin. So as sinful beings, it can be misunderstood that because we all have sin, God hates us. However, God does not hate the sinner, but the sin within that person. We’ve probably heard it before: “Hate the sin, not the sinner,” and it’s the same with our Father.
Imagine you’re a parent, and your child has gotten into drugs. The drugs are slowly consuming your precious child’s life, this beautiful child you created and raised, and you are seeing them deteriorate right before your very eyes because of this silent evil. Eventually the drugs will claim your child’s life. That is sin for us. A loving parent wouldn’t hate the child but would hate the drug that is killing them.
It’s the same with God. Sin leads to death. And unfortunately, because of the devil, sin has been able to enter and permeate throughout our world, and has been the source of suffering and death ever since the very first sin in the Garden of Eden. God hates that His creation has been poisoned and tainted with this fatal thing and He hates the one who poisoned them.
If He Doesn’t Hate Me, Then What is God Doing?
Instead of just sitting there hating the sin or just sitting back and watching His creation suffer and die, God has been working tirelessly to save and redeem us. In the past, He chose the Israelites to be His treasured nation. He wanted them to learn how to become holy in order to teach others how to do the same. But the devil’s influence was too strong. So God once again lost His chosen people because they turned their backs on him. Therefore, something greater was needed.
In the ultimate plan to recover His children from the enemy, God promised to send a Savior. His own Son, who would be born without sin, would come and atone for our sins so that we could be reunited with God once again. That Savior who came and atoned for our sins is Jesus Christ. He gave his life so that the children who were once lost to sin could be forgiven once and for all. He gave his life so we could become the righteous children of God again. If you were a parent, do you think you could sacrifice your only child for people who’ve turned their backs on you? What do you think God felt as he watched His son being beaten, spat on, and nailed to the cross? If God hated you, why would He have provided a way to life through His son’s sacrifice?
Our Mindset for Times of Hardship
We’ve established that God does not hate you, but actually loves you and wants to help you out of sin. So what can we do during the inevitable times of suffering? First, let us be mindful of two different ways we can react to our trials. We can see it as an opportunity to grow, to become stronger, and draw closer to God. Or we can see it as an attack, another endless battle, become disheartened and eventually go further away God. Please choose God. Remember that this was not His original intent for you to suffer. Remember His heart and that He is also heartbroken with You – He doesn’t want to see His precious creation in pain.
So, even though it hurts, even though you might not feel like you can continue on, always remember that God does not hate you. He loves you dearly. He has been and still is working tirelessly to provide ways for you to be redeemed in the midst of a sinful world. Let the hard times help us grow and deepen our faith in Him. When we do that, we naturally become stronger. We naturally seek Him out in every situation. And when we seek Him, God shows His love for us by always being there to pick us back up and restore our hope.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11
Written by Jay
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