Dear Fellow Human Who is Hurting,
There are times when life hurts so deeply that it becomes difficult to reconcile suffering with the belief that God is good or loving. Our bodies age and die, illness strikes people we love, money becomes a source of worry, relationships change, the phone doesn’t ring, and prayers seem to go unanswered. Eventually, it is natural to wonder, “If God really loves me, why doesn’t He do something about this?”
First, I am truly sorry you are going through such a difficult time, and second, it is not an unjustified question, and asking it does not make you short on faith. In fact, dear friend, the Bible is filled with people who asked God “Why?” did. did…. . Even did. They brought their anger, confusion, fear and grief directly to God because they believed He could hear them, even when they didn’t understand what He was doing.
I think there is also a difference between God allowing something and God causing it. We live in a world where bodies become sick, people grow old, choices have consequences, and even other people’s choices can affect our lives. Sometimes things happen that have no satisfying explanation, but that doesn’t mean God chose or wants those things for us, or that we somehow deserve them.
God’s love has never meant that life will be free from suffering. Scripture does not require us to pretend that suffering doesn’t hurt. What Scripture does tell us is that He is , and that He does not turn away from us when life becomes painful.
Some prayers are answered in the way we hope, but sometimes the answer we desperately want doesn’t come, and that can be terribly hard. Unfortunately, there are things about suffering that we simply cannot understand, so perhaps, little by little, the question can become not simply “Why did God let this happen?” [to which you may never know the answer] but can be expanded to the added prayer of “God, where are You in the middle of this? Will You help me through today?” [to which there is an answer]
We may not always understand why something happens. But not understanding is not the same as being abandoned.
Being in pain is not the same as being unloved, and feeling forgotten is not the same as being forgotten.
Faith requires enduring things that do not always have an explanation, but is easy to feel hurt, angry, or lost without answers. So perhaps the best place to start finding your personal answers to your hard questions is to begin by simply reaching for God in the darkness, trusting that even when you cannot see Him clearly, even when you are angry and hurting, He is still there.
Your Sister in Christ,
Lahle
Heavenly Father,
Holy are you, Lord God, but I am still really angry at you and I cannot understand why you have allowed this to happen in my life. But your word says even in the midst of our hardest and darkest days you are still there so I am asking you to please reveal yourself to me. If I cannot understand why, give me the strength for today and the faith needed to get through this.
I still believe in You, I trust you, but I am so hurt I don’t know what to do with all these heavy and painful feelings. Please, help me, meet me where I am because I am too weak to reach beyond my pain. I invite you into all the emptiness I feel, and ask you to fill me with your peace. Please forgive me, I ask for mercy and grace in my time of need.
Thank you, for listening, in faith I wait upon you now.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
For those who are interested in a more thorough answer, I recommend watching the following sermon by Pastor Craig Roeschel of Life Church. His sermon addresses why there is evil, why it impacts us and how without free choice, there is no love. And, he explains in detail that because God did not want robots, but children who chose to love Him, He offered us free will. With free will we can choose to love God back, or we can choose hate. We can also choose to do good, or evil.
