I've Given Up on God

 "I've given up on God," the man told my friend. An awkward silence followed. My friend replied, "Well, God has not given up on you." Fast forward several weeks and that same disgruntled disciple told my friend, "God is good." 

What happened? Years and years of bitterness had eaten away this man's faith and love for God like a cancer. He experienced suffering. His suffering got the better of him and, in a season of frustration and pent up anger, He lost hope and gave up on God. His experience is not isolated. Millions experience or have experienced the same thing. 

They gave up on God when the prayer did not get answered the way they wanted. When the worst case scenario became reality. When the burden got heavier instead of lighter. When reconciliation did not occur. When abuse damaged deeper than the eyes can see. When love was intentionally withheld. When the heart is shattered into pieces like glass hitting hard pavement sending shivers in every direction. When the finances runs dry and are insufficient to meet the needs. When the prodigal stiffens their neck in rebellion and stubborn pride refusing to be repentant. 

For all these reasons and many others, people give up on God. They lose heart. Their faith crumbles under the load like knees buckling underneath a heavy load. Satan loves to dispatch demons to plant toxic thoughts in such times. Such toxic thoughts that lead a person to give up on God. I have certainly been there. I am betting some of you have too. 

God is supposed to help. He is supposed to protect us, strengthen us, make our path straight, show us favor, and deliver us from evil. Some seasons of life make those attributes of God get called into question when He is silent and appears absent in our misery. Like at the funeral home or the cemetery. It is so easy for bitterness to creep in. To contemplate the raw deal God has handed us. 

We often fail to remember this truth. Pain and suffering came as a result of sin way back with Adam and Eve. Those came when the curse of sin was passed down to the whole human race. Translation; bad things happen to good people. We no longer get the luxury of living in the Garden of Eden. We live on this sin infested planet. Surrounded by suffering, disheartened, and distressed people.

I experience it weekly with those I minister to. I received a prayer request for an eleven year old boy who had a heart attack and is fighting for his life. I just did a funeral for a wife and mother who died from complications from the pandemic. I visited with a family who have been hit with one trial after another for the past several years. They have been faithful servants of the Lord. The wife is trying to hold it all together but the pain and pressure are too much to bear at times. I see people being forced to relocate because their rent, mortgage, or property taxes are so astronomical they cannot keep up. I talk with parents whose hearts have been ripped out by wayward prodigy. I visit with people struggling in addiction, fighting temptation, living in grievous sorrow and those so bone weary they can barely keep going. 

Such people may be tempted to give up on God. I ask where else can any of us turn for help? Alcohol is the devil's brew that only masquerades as the answer. It creates more problems in the end. Sex cannot eradicate pain. The pleasure is only fleeting at best. Nor can any kind of narcotic provide lasting relief. There is no other place to turn to but God. We cannot buy happiness. No matter how much money we have. We cannot purchase pain free lives. God is our rock solid foundation. He is mysterious. His ways and thoughts are beyond our comprehension, but He knows exactly what He is doing. He has earned the right to be trusted. 

You may be one of those who has given up on God. I am so thankful that He has not given up on you. Nor did He give up on me when I did not have my head twisted on rightly. Many times He works in ways we cannot see. He creeps in the crevices and cracks of our faith to work in us, on us and eventually through us. That is the hope of [Phil 1:6] He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.

 He helps us get up out of bed on days when our heart is not in it. He sustains us to show up for worship when our faith is wounded. He comforts us in the night watches. He reminds us of His love. He sends us His faithfulness and new mercies every single day, even if we are blinded to them. He listens to our sob splattered supplications. He does not abandon us. He is working. [John 5:17] He is always working. We may not be aware of it. We may feel like He abandoned us in our misery. Trust a little longer. Cling to Him a little tighter. Wait patiently. He will show Himself faithful. [I Thess 5:24] He cannot be anything else but faithful. That is His nature. I trust, in His good time, He will see you through to the other side of your crisis and pain. Like one suffering saint once said, "You can't have a testimony without a test." Your suffering just might be used to help someone else get through their personal dark night. Our God has not given up on us. May we not give up on Him either.