I never thought I’d be here, helpless, weak…sick, on a marathon for life itself. Cables of all sorts attached to me like a multi-charger, fluids streaming through my body holding onto dear life, and the slow yet fading beeping of my heartbeats, each one step closer to the ultimate gate to death. Can God really be with me? If He is, does He even love me, and why would He? Or am I truly alone? Surely, if He loved me, He wouldn’t let me suffer like this…
Is He really with me?
Sickness…loneliness…sorrow, even something as simple as academic struggles. Is God truly with us through all this? Or should we simply conclude that we always have been and always will be alone?
Believe it or not, God is all around us. At every second, minute, and hour of life, He’s there. In everything we do or say, He’s there. And through all the struggles we face, He’s there. And as impossible as it may seem, He is guiding and helping us through all the obstacles life has in store for us.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
-Joshua 1:9
Joshua 1:9 reminds us of this promise and command: evidence that, once again, God is always amidst us, strengthening us to keep pushing forward despite the challenges and complications we face. Whether we go to the farthest reaches of the South or the most remote areas of the North; past, present, or future, God will be there, watching, guarding, and helping us through every smooth, rough, or painful step of the pathway.
So He’s with me…but does He love me?
GOD TRULY LOVES ME:
– True
– False
What would you pick? True? Or false? If we’re really honest with ourselves, most of the time we’d answer ‘False’. As staggering and shocking as it may be, the answer is true: God loves us. Regardless of our assumptions, God’s love is true. It’s easy for us to doubt God’s love. Poor grades, a broken family, sickness…nearly any problem in our daily lives cause us to question, “Does God even care about us at all?”
To fully understand this, we must redefine the meaning of ‘love’. Our current understanding of love may be friendship, brotherly, or romantic, but God’s love is sacrificial.
“This how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him”
-1 John 4:9
One person, phenomenal acts. One sacrifice, countless saved. One name, great meaning. Jesus. He is pure evidence and the ultimate proof of God’s sacrificial love for us. 1 John 4:9 tells us that God sent His one and only Son to take our place. Jesus left the comforts of heaven willingly to die for us, taking our place on the cross, the judgment we deserve because of our sins – the ultimate sacrifice. Even if you were the only person who needed to be saved, Jesus would still have made the same sacrifice. Even if the sacrifice on the cross were all He did for us, that would have been more than enough to prove His love for us. But He reveals His love repeatedly every day.
Why does God love me?
Perhaps we think we are loved because we are ‘good’. Maybe it’s because we do good things or simply because God is forced to love us.
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
– 1 John 4:10
Is it because we are good and do good deeds?
Maybe we think God loves us because we are good and act well. After all, the world has taught us this one equation: “Good deeds = Rewards”.
So we do good deeds. Say you held the door open for someone or helped someone with their homework. Those are indeed good deeds—simple actions but good deeds nonetheless, and therefore, we deserve to be loved by God… right?
But no, God’s love is unattainable. It cannot be earned. It is far too great for us sinners to be able to earn, moreover, deserve. No matter how many good deeds we do or how good we are, we cannot earn it. It is an astounding gift God has given to us unconditionally. After all, gifts are not earned, but they are given.
Is it because He is forced?
So if it isn’t because of good deeds, maybe it’s because He has no choice. He created us, ergo He must love us – it’s common sense, right?
No, that so-called ‘love’ is an obligatory kind of ‘love’: uninterested, lazy, and certainly not genuine. But God’s love is far more authentic than we can ever imagine; it’s sincere against all the odds.
Because we loved Him first?
We, as humans, tend to think proudly and arrogantly. Perhaps we may think that God loves us because, again, we do good deeds and are kind on our initiative, and His love is simply something to ‘repay’ us for our love towards Him. Is this really why He loves us, though?
Drawing back to 1 John 4:10, this verse reveals that it is “not that we loved God, but that he loved us”.
God doesn’t love us in response to our love for Him. Frankly, it’s the opposite. Our love for Him is in response to His love for us.
God loves us because He loves us
God doesn’t love us because we’re good or do good deeds, nor does He love us because He is forced to or in response to our love. He loves us, simply because He just loves us. Think of your parents, why do they love you? They love you simply because they love you, as you are their child. This is like God, only He is a far greater parent.
“Surely if He loved me, He wouldn’t let me suffer like this…”
When we love someone, what are our initial responses? Presumably, to protect them, keep them safe, care for them, etc.. So though God loves us, He doesn’t fulfill our ‘criteria’ for love. He loves us but He allows sickness. He loves us yet we experience sadness. He loves us yet He allows us to suffer in many ways. How would this make sense? Honestly, questioning whether God truly loves us is a natural response, but God has a reason and plan for all His actions.
- Our hardships are all part of His unpredictable yet beautiful plan. We should trust Him. He doesn’t just toy with us; He has a set life plan for all of us, full of joyful, sorrowful, and hardship moments – which are all ultimately for our good.
- If we don’t suffer, we will slowly and gradually forget about God. A carefree life seems appealing. Sure. However, slowly, we’ll begin to forget about God. Through every happy moment comes another forgotten moment of God. We will soon come to think that we can live without God, that we don’t need him, and that our life is perfect. God uses suffering to help us turn back to Him, asking for help and forgiveness. He uses suffering to remind us that without Him, all of us wouldn’t be here, we would be completely lost, weak, and helpless.
- We may experience suffering as punishment. God may be trying to teach us something through punishment after we have made a poor decision or action that goes against the Bible. God uses this form of suffering to bring us back to Him again so that we may repent and experience the joy of forgiveness and sanctification.
What Now?
So, He loves us, He’s with us, and He has good and beautiful reasons for His love and actions toward us. So…what now? Should we simply read and forget? Every hardship, sadness, loss, and pretty much every form of suffering we can think of will probably cause us to doubt God’s love and presence once more. It may seem too confusing to apply it to our lives, but it really isn’t.
1. Trust
Doubting God’s love and care for us is common! But we mustn’t simply leave our doubts to pile up. We should trust Him and believe that He is with us and He does love us. By remembering His past and present blessings, we can pile up our faith and trust instead of our doubts! Once again, God has a beautiful plan for each of us, each in its unique form.
2. Pray
When that uncertainty comes, not only should we trust God, but also talk to Him. God listens, cares, and is waiting for our prayers. And there are no boundaries to what we talk about and how much we talk to Him! If we are in doubt, we should talk to Him, and ask Him to reassure us. He is the perfect parent, friend, and counselor.
3. Read
Honestly, having the want or zeal to actually take time to read the Bible is hard. There are so many other books, dramas, and series that we could read or watch instead. However, reading the Bible means reading the book of hope, comfort, and assurance that no other source can give us.
Trust, pray, read…three simple yet meaningful ways we can build our trust and assurance in God.
Where will you start?
