The Fallacy Sessions: God Doesn’t Care

“Stand at the door and knock.”

If you’ve ever thought “God doesn’t care about me”, you aren’t alone. At some point in our lives, I’m sure all of us have felt like we’re facing a closed door. The thought “Maybe God doesn’t love me after all” has crept into countless minds.

Is that thought true? Perhaps God cared about the Israelites thousands of years ago…but does He care about us nowadays?

“For I know the plans I have for you”

I can’t begin to tell you how many people I’ve met whose favourite verse is Jeremiah 29:11. (Okay, I love it too. I’ve used it in posts before.) Who wouldn’t like this incredible verse about hope?

“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 a future and a hope.”

However, what I rarely see is people stating the context of that verse. God gave Israel this message of hope when they were going into exile. God was telling them that yes, things suck now, but they will get better. Which honestly makes the verse more meaningful.

Sometimes life today can suck too (I know that’s an understatement). Maybe we haven’t been exiled from our homeland and taken captive by an enemy nation, maybe we have. Either way, this verse is special because it’s not a blind promise. God isn’t spurting out words of encouragement for the sake of encouragement – He means them. He actually cares.

Is God distant?

A friend once asked me this question: How would you feel if a King or Queen sent you a personal letter? While there aren’t a ton of Kings and Queens in the modern day, we do have these people called celebrities.

Let’s rephrase the question to, How would you feel if your favourite athlete, actor, singer, etc. sent you a one-of-a-kind text message? In that message, they told you how much they appreciated you, cared about you, and how they were willing to die for you because you were that special to them.

It does sound kinda dumb when it’s put that way. But that’s what God did, and more. He individually reached out to every human being, and not only told us how much He loved us but sent His son to die for us.

Now imagine the celebrity who sent you that message also told you they had written a massive book filled with their knowledge and wisdom, and were going to give it to you. Even crazier. Sound familiar? The God of the Universe gave us a Book (more like a library of 66 books) filled with knowledge and life insight. A book that helps us navigate the difficult times.

Even though a King, Queen, or celebrity probably won’t send you a personal message telling you they’re willing to die for you, God did. Even though a King, Queen, or celebrity probably won’t write a book of wisdom especially for you, the God of the Universe did. That doesn’t seem like the act of a “distant Someone”, does it?

What about unanswered prayers?

*sigh* The number of people who turn away from their faith because they claim God doesn’t answer prayer must be staggering. Everyone on earth has to deal with unanswered prayers. I know I have, many times. There are things I’ve been praying about for years that haven’t happened yet. It hurts.

The Bible tells us, “When two or three gather in My name, I am with them.” (Matthew 18:20, NIV) It also says, “You may ask me for anything in My name, and I will do it.” (John 14:14, NIV) So why doesn’t this always happen?

Perhaps it comes down to the strength of our beliefs. Maybe we aren’t serious enough about whatever it is we’re asking for. If we want to see God answer prayer, we have to truly believe He’s going to do it, as impossible as it may seem.

We also need to remember that God is not a vending machine. If He answered all of our prayers right away, we would never see any personal growth. If you ask for something, and He tells you to wait, don’t be discouraged! Instead, realize that He’s using the hardship of waiting to strengthen your faith.

Waiting is hard, but it deepens your relationship with God more than getting instant answers ever will. On top of this, we don’t know the big picture. Only God knows the impact of an answered (or unanswered) prayer. We need to trust that He’s doing what’s best for us in the long term.

Needless to say, God does answer prayers, both big and small. If you’ve read my recent series, A Different Kind of Summer, you’ll see many examples of God answering prayer. These ranged from tiny requests to massive ones – like fixing our camp water pump so we wouldn’t have to send everybody home. It only takes a quick look at your life to see that God does answer prayer.

Do we matter to Him?

YES. Today I’ve shown you three areas where God does care about us: He gives us hope for the future (Jeremiah 29:11), He sent His only son to save us (John 3:16), and He answers prayer (John 14:14). If you read Scripture, you will find countless other examples of God’s love for us.

Yes, being a Christian isn’t easy – it never has been. The culture fights against everything we do, and the devil blasts us with lies. One of the most prominent tricks up Lucifer’s sleeve is the myth that God doesn’t love us. But this is a fallacy. Look back at your life and see where you’d be without God.

I think it’s safe to say He cares about even the smallest things. As Matthew 6:30 says, “Aren’t two sparrows sold for only a penny? But not one of them falls to the ground without your Father knowing it.” If God cares about a tiny bird, He cares about you. So keep on praying, keep on trusting, and keep on persevering, because God’s love isn’t going away anytime soon.

As the book of Matthew says…

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”