If God Loves Me, Why …?

If God Loves Me, Why …?

Renee Swope

Soon after I surrendered my life to Christ, I started struggling with painful things from my past that made me doubt God’s promises for my future. I wondered: If God loves me, why has He allowed so much pain in my life? Why had He allowed my family to be broken by adultery and divorce as well as alcohol and drug addictions? And why didn’t He stop me from the pain I brought on myself?

One afternoon I told a friend about my doubts and questions. She didn’t give me a pat answer; instead, she shared her own story of deep disappointments and brokenness. Yet, I didn’t sense doubt or pain in her words, just a strong confidence and hope.

Turning the pages of her Bible to Jeremiah 29, Wanda read God’s promise to me: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

She said God wanted to heal the pain of my past and use what I’d experienced to shape His plans for my future. But I didn’t want God to use my pain or my past. I just wanted it to go away.

Have you ever wondered, If God loves me, why …?

This is the kind of question that lingers in a heart that’s been wounded and disappointed. And hurts that aren’t healed can lead to bitterness and bondage. Yet, in the security of a relationship with Jesus, God invites us to ask hard questions and look for answers that usher us into the depths of His redeeming love and healing power.

May I whisper some hope into your heart today? If you are living and breathing, your purpose has not yet been fulfilled. No matter what you have done or what has been done to you, God has a plan for your life.

So, how do we discover God’s plans? Let’s read the premise that follows God’s promise. After God declares the plans He has for us, He says: “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:12–13).

We find God’s plans when we surrender ours to Him. It’s a moment-by-moment process of coming to Him, talking to Him, and letting Him love us into a place of hope and healing.

God’s love has the power to redeem and restore us into confident hope. When we allow the Holy Spirit, poured out like living water, to go deep into our pain, He can heal our hearts from the inside out. His truth cuts to the core of our struggles, bringing purpose to our pain, redemption from our past, and hope for our future!

Dear Lord, heal my hurts and give me hope as I learn to trust the plans You have for me. I’m seeking You with all my heart today. Set me free from my doubts and lead me into a place of confident hope. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

REMEMBER

If you are living and breathing, your purpose has not yet been fulfilled. No matter what you have done or what has been done to you, God has a plan for your life.

REFLECT

What excites you about finding God’s plans for your life?

RESPOND

Write out one dream you have for your life. Then ask the Lord if this dream is in line with His dream for you.

POWER VERSES

Psalm 71:5; Jeremiah 17:7