I am Suffering — Is God Mad at Me?

Question from a Site Viewer

I am suffering so much! The enemy’s attacks are working . . .

I am suffering greatly right now. I have seen God work in my life. But I am suffering so much. I’m losing trust in God. I know this is the enemy’s attack. But because I am suffering the attacks are working. I’m in constant doubt. I pray for my faith to increase. I want to believe that my suffering will end soon. The enemy is working overtime on me. Is God mad at me for doubting Him? I know He loves me. I can handle suffering, but I’ve never dealt with this level of suffering.

Tim’s Answer

I am sorry that you are suffering. But I am glad that you are clinging to Christ in your trials. Though all of life is stripped away from us, whether it be our possessions, our relationships, or our own health, Christ is the rock to which we must cling. He is the shelter in the time of storm. He is the faithful one who, after we have suffered awhile, will establish, strengthen, and settle us (1 Peter 5:10).

You ask whether God is mad at you. God sometimes is angry over the failure of His people to trust Him and walk with Him. But when we turn back to Him with our whole heart, He meets us always with mercy. So, sometimes, and I emphasize the word “sometimes,” we endure trials because of our own sins. When this is the case, the proper response is to confess our sins to God and seek His mercy. He is faithful and just to forgive our sins (1 John 1:9). And I believe that if sin is the problem, the Holy Spirit is faithful to convict us of our sins. Thus, we do not need to search our lives to see what we might have done that may have displeased God. Rather, if sin is the problem, the Holy Spirit is faithful to reveal to us our sins. God does not hold us accountable for unknown sins. (Jesus already died to pay for our sins.) When life seems to fall apart, the first place I always want to check is whether I have been walking with God as I ought. If the answer is “no,” I confess my sin and seek to return to Him.

Many times, however, Christians suffer not because of sin, but solely as part of the Christian life. The book of 1 Peter is written about the topic of suffering. All of God’s servants have suffered, whether Abraham, Joseph, David, Daniel, Peter, Paul, or Jesus. Trials in life help to reveal to us where our source of strength really lies. If our source of strength is in Christ, then trials will reveal this. If our source of strength is in our finances, health, relationships, etc., then the trials will reveal this as well. Remember what Jesus said at the close of the Sermon on the Mount. A wise person is like a man who builds his house upon the rock. When the rains come and the storms surge, the house stands. The foolish person is like a man who builds his house upon the sand. When the rains come and the storms surge, the house falls. When our lives are centered on Jesus, we are secure no matter what the storms may be.

And storms will come. I encourage you to read Lamentations 3 sometime. There, Jeremiah the prophet describes a trial he went through, and the awfulness of that trial. He uses very descriptive words to portray his trial. It was as if God Himself was fighting against Jeremiah. But in the midst of his trial, Jeremiah remembered a truth, that God’s mercies have no end, they are new every morning, and His faithfulness is great. He also recalled the truth that it is good to wait and hope in the salvation of God. This is the same lesson the Psalmist tells us over and over. Do not be discouraged, but rather hope in God because He will yet come through and deliver (Psalm 42 and 43). This was the lesson of Job, in Job 19. Job knew that He had a Redeemer who would deliver him one day.

No trials are pleasant. And some trials are very great. I encourage you to keep your eyes fixed on the hope of the grace brought to us when Christ is revealed (1 Peter 1:13). Through the darkest days, He will bring you safely through and lead you to glory.

with my prayers,