God, Do You Care?

When Suffering Makes Us Wonder

By Jen Allee

Raise your hand if you have ever questioned what God is doing in your life.

Okay. Now that we are all on the same page, let’s talk about it. When our circumstances go sideways, we tend to ask God why. But underneath that query is something deeper. The disciples voice it clearly in Mark 4.

Remember when the disciples were gripping the sides of a flailing boat while Jesus was sound asleep and seemingly oblivious? They shook Him awake and pointedly asked Him, “Teacher, don’t You care if we drown” (v. 38)?

Did you catch it? Those three little words: Don’t. You. Care.

At the heart of our confusion, we wonder if God cares. Surely if He cared about me, He wouldn’t have allowed that to happen, right?

We equate our circumstances with God’s love for us. And that is a slippery slope.

In Romans 8, Paul speaks directly to the topic of suffering and God’s love. He was no stranger to anguish and adversity, yet he had learned to not be defeated by it. What was the key?