You are not alone

Where is God in my suffering?
Has He forgotten about me?
How will I ever get through this?

God knew there would be times when we would be so enveloped in fear and uncertainty that we would lose sight of His presence. He knew there would be circumstances so difficult we would often question whether He really loves us and is with us in our suffering.

But Scripture shows us we are not alone in our circumstances — no matter how difficult they are.

In Isaiah 43:2, God says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”

No matter how difficult and no matter how dark the season you find yourself walking through, God is with you. He promises to meet you in your pain and to help you, saying, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

There is no reason to fear; you are not alone. God has been there for every tear and every sorrow (Psalm 56:8), and He will strengthen your heart and help you back to your feet, no matter where He finds you today.

It’s Not God’s Fault

“Why?” is the question we wrestle with most when our hearts are broken and our lives are in shambles.

Why would God allow me to suffer?
Why do such bad things happen to good people?

You aren’t the only person who has asked those questions. Throughout Psalms, David, a king who was known as a man after God’s own heart, asks why over and over again (Psalm 22:1).

A whole book of the Bible is dedicated to Job, a righteous man who lost everything and everyone he loved, then argued with friends about why it all fell apart. Even Jesus let out a heartfelt “Why?” to God as He died on the cross (Matthew 27:46).

So why does God allow us to suffer? Couldn’t He have created a world where there was no suffering? The answer is: He did!

When God created the world it was perfect. Genesis 1:31 says, “God saw all that He made, and it was very good.” There was no sin, no sickness, no death, or betrayal. But after the first humans entered the earth, so did sin. And that changed everything (Genesis 1-2).

Since then, it’s not a matter of if we will have troubles, but when we will! In John 16:33, Jesus says, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

In Christ, we can rest assured that our pain is not God’s fault. On the contrary, our greatest pain is an opportunity to see God’s power.

God’s Not Done

There are moments in suffering where we are certain this is the end, this latest painful development is the knockout blow that will leave us on the canvas for good. But in Christ that is never the case. Be- cause if it’s not good, God’s not done (Romans 8:28).

In Isaiah 43:18-19, God makes a promise, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

God sees the devastation left in the wake of our past and the perilous journey awaiting our future. At every turn, God is working to make a way through the wasteland made of our lives and our hearts — even when we cannot see it. Our gravest danger is giving up be- fore His deliverance unfolds.

No matter what you have lost, God is working — in this very moment — to restore your life and heart immeasurably more than you ever thought possible (Ephesians 3:20). It’s not the end of the story, only an intermission, and the best is yet to come.