Here is a sincere question from a person who is struggling with her faith: “Why does it seem like when people need God the most he turns his back on them?”
Here is my answer to that question:
When God Turned Away
Let me preface it by saying it’s gonna seem like a non-answer, but bear with me. The biggest need of ALL men is for the stain of sin to be removed from them. All of us have no need so great as this. We all deserve eternal punishment for our sin. So God sent His only son into the world so that the world might live through Him. God sent Jesus to be the propitiation for the sins of all who believe in Him. That means that sinners can have their biggest problem completely erased by believing that Jesus was resurrected from the dead and trusting Him as savior. So in reality, God does NOT turn His back when “people most need Him.” God actually already took care of our greatest need. It is we who have turned our backs on Him. It is we who turn away from God and then, when we don’t like the consequences, we blame Him.
For example, God says not to lie. Then we lie anyway and then life gets terrible and we’re like “Where’s God?” God was there before you lied telling you not to lie in His Word. He didn’t turn His back on us, we turned our backs on Him, pushed Him away, and He left us to the consequences of what we truly wanted, a life without Him. So it seems like God turns His back on us but actually, He just allows us to have what we really wanted. We wanted to sin. He let us have it and because He loves us He lets us feel the effects of our sin. If He didn’t let us feel the pain of sin, we’d never turn to Christ as savior.
When God Doesn’t Help Us
Now, sometimes bad things happen TO US. God let’s other sinners sin too, and sometimes their sin affects us. God lets perverts live, right? This only seems to create victims of their perversions, right? But God will one day punish all evildoers. So He hasn’t actually turned His back, but He’s patiently allowing evil to persist to give us time to hear the gospel and repent. If God wipes away all evil this moment, He could theoretically protect everyone from other sinners, but He’d have to wipe away ALL OF US too, because we’re all sinners. So although it seems like God isn’t there for us when bad things happen, we can take comfort that we know God permits those bad things. There is a purpose to our suffering; it isn’t random chance. And there will be an end to it. This is our hope and comfort.
I want you to read these posts my friend wrote about a passage of scripture that says to “Draw near to God.” I think they will help you understand what I tried to communicate here.
[loop type=”post” taxonomy=”tag” value=”James 4:8″ format=”clean” orderby=date order=ASC author=anelson]
[field title-link][/loop]
Are you on drugs? What kind of baseless crap is this? And where did you get your logic from.
As a born again believer since 10/76 a drunk driver hit my husband and caused his paralysis. As a paraplegic God strengthened him to rise above returning to college degree in mechanical engineering and we moved south for easier e access for terrain and weather. Did cruises and enjoyed life like never before! Retired early moved north to mountain home on mountaintop. I had massive stroke 2022 resulting in left side paralysis. Not expecting to both be paralyzed, needless to say it’s horrific. I can no longer care for him like I used to for skin breakdown and overall support and he can hardly care for me for dressing showering cooking etc. we’ve entered into an acute desperate state of being. I was fit and healthy expecting to age with strength…. The other morning I prayed God would just take me home. I’m a burden to my husband and can be of no help for him. No taking my life is not an option. But I sure believe God’s face is turned away from us. Daily reading of his word and prayer just seem plastic. What does he want from us? We’ve confessed sin and praise him… hope is minimal if at all the God I loved and trusted seems nonexistent as David experienced. Unlike his enemies, o fight the thoughts I have not honoring him. You post was helpful and did not contradict Him nor doctrine theologians have proven.
What an amazingly transparent post of deep anguish. My heart breaks for your desperate condition and my cry goes out to God to grant you peace and comfort. My father became paralyzed and mother took care of him until she mentally broke down. I can’t for the life of me understand why God lets devoted Christians suffer in these ways…though I’ve studied hard and heard all the reasons. I can only trust He lets it happen ultimately to His glory. I pray that God makes these suffering times seem infinitely short. May God give you an extra measure of faith, peace, comfort, and support. Where are God’s people in supporting you?! Where am I in supporting you?! Please reach out to me at dalekatz13.com
I am so sorry, Linda. How I wish I had the strength to encourage you, but I don’t. I have more faith for you than I do for my situation. Look to Him. And cry out to Him. He will answer you.
I will pray for you
God is cruel. If God created everything he is indeed an asshole. People, animals everything suffers the more I learnt as I grow older, realize that this is the true monster the dictator of life. The freedom he supposed to given us comes at a price, he wants and condones suffering, he is selective of sin when it suits him, yes HIM, he turns a blind eye when it suits him, yes Him again. he invented it, he knows us, determines our future then belittles us, he is also selective, oh, yes even GOD has his favorites, then he has got to cheek to say we are all equal, what BS. Even so called Lucifer was once his favorite most beautiful angel, talk about favoritism in the Christian Bible. I seen and heard too many people innocence people suffer. NO More of this worship of GOD. I use to follow but now just want to cry.
This is so hard to read. It is so hard to believe and have faith when everything goes wrong all of the time. I believe, have faith, pray, and still life just flat out craps on me. It said that “we chose sin” so he turned his back, right? I didn’t choose to an incurable disease at 20 years old, end my college days one semester short of graduating. Been working a crap job because I have no degree for years. I’m almost 43 now and I really just want to give up on religion as a whole. Nobody who loves someone would let things that I have seen happen to them when they have ultimate control to end it. I am so mad at God if he is real. I am so hurt, angry, abandoned and just plain hate it right now. It almost seems better to just accept that the world is a crappy place and that you have to get lucky or be born into a wealthy/good family for you to be “blessed” My faith is at an all time low. I really just want to believe that there is nothing but nothingness and darkness after death as there was before birth. It is easier to accept that than to feel forsaken by an “Almighty Creator” that loves us dearly. I’d rather almost just chalk it up to bad luck than trying to keep my faith and be a believer in the Almighty. I have sinned, we all have, but my God at what point is enough enough? It just breaks my heart to think that a “father” would do such things. I have a child and I would take every ounce of suffering away from him to have a wonderful, happy healthy life and be productive and have a wonderful family and wife and children. I know I have rambled but I’m so angry at the idea of a God that lets his people suffer when we try to bring his light to many. I’m lost, I’m desperate and I am really wanting to just give up on God and be a nonbeliever.