Q:

I’m about to give up on God. I’ve prayed and prayed for Him to take away my problems, but nothing has changed. Why doesn’t God do something? I thought He was supposed to care about us.

20+ years of praying for some very simple, non-selfish things, and all I’ve received from God is abject silence. Actually, I think he did answer, and did the exact opposite so I would suffer even more. I can’t even go to church anymore because I cannot stand to be hurt again by other Christians as has happened numerous times, nor do I want to hear how perfect everyone else’s life is and how God does every single thing they ask.

I’m lonely, have no friends, no real family other than 1 sister I talk to on occasion, as our parents won’t even acknowledge me anymore because they see me as a failure for not being married and giving them grandchildren. Could God at least spare a crumb, surely I am worthy of at least that?

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A:

It’s not easy to live by faith. We live in a broken world. The weather doesn’t work right. Our bodies don’t work right. Our relationships don’t work right.

So many people want to give up on life altogether. Others want to give up on people in their lives. Some want to give up on themselves. Some want to call it quits with their jobs, commitments, projects, their dogs, anything or anyone at all.

Some people even want to give up on and turn away from God. I have experienced all of these temptations, and for years fell prey to exactly that. Quitting. I was the ultimate quitter.

But the Lord drew me to Himself, led me to His Word, filled me with His Holy Spirit and scriptures, and has given me the strength to endure. Though I fall short, and fail often, I have learned to persevere.

In Hebrews 11, God urges us to hang on, because God hasn’t forgotten us and will fulfill his promises one day. He promises to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). He promises to take away our tears (Revelation 7). And he gives us multiple other promises throughout his Word.

When you feel like giving up, you don’t have to comprehend the entire journey, you only need enough strength to take one more step.

God does care about us—far more than we’ll ever imagine. Even when we forget Him or ignore Him, He does not forget us or ignore us, because His love for us is everlasting.

Why, then, doesn’t He take our problems away when we ask Him? Often God answers our prayers not by taking our problems away, but by giving us the strength and wisdom to deal with them. Yes, when problems arise we all wish they’d just go away—but sometimes God wants us to turn to Him and instead ask Him for the strength to stand up under them. And when we do, He has promised to grant it. The Apostle Paul said, “I can do everything through him (Christ) who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

Hebrews 11 mentions a variety of biblical heroes who demonstrated faith in God’s promises — Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Gideon, Samson, and others. Though they endured many difficulties, they kept going in their spiritual journeys.

Then Hebrews 11:39-40 says, “All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us” (NLT).

May this be your experience as you turn your life over to Jesus Christ and trust your problems into His care. God loves you; He loves you so much that He sent His Son into the world to make you part of His family forever. Put your trust in Him today.