God Doesn’t Love Me - Lee Brainard

It is common to hear people complain that God doesn’t love them when bad things happen to them. But such talk is far from the truth. It is a complete misunderstanding of God. The fact is, no man in the Universe is more misunderstood than God.

Most of the bad things that happen to us are not from God but from man. They can be traced to things like poor choices, wrong choices, stealing, fighting, and lying — sometimes our own. It isn’t fair to blame these things on God. The whole world is corrupted — every man and institution. The best of us try to cover up the problem with religion or morality; the worst of us act like vicious animals.

The bad things in nature that God allows — as earthquakes, extreme weather, diseases, and the rest of the chaos in creation — are not an expression of dislike but disciplinary grace. They remind us that there is a sin problem down here that God is dealing with in his own time and way.

In short, bad things are not proof that God does not love us (Romans 8:35-39). On the contrary, every bad thing that happens works out for our good if we trust the Lord (Romans 8:28). Though the devil intends to hurt us with them, God intends them for blessing, both ours and that of others (Gen. 50:20, 2 Cor. 1:4).

~Lee Brainard, June 28, 2014