Don't You Care?

 Don’t you care?

“If you had been here” exasperated Martha spoke to Jesus concerning her brother’s death. (Ref John 11:21)

“The boat is sinking!” The disciples panted desperately. (Ref Matthew 8:25)

“Does he really care? He wants to withhold from you something good” the serpent maliciously uttered to Eve. (Ref Genesis 3:4-5)

Above are my paraphrases of crossroads that people were confronted with in the Bible. Would they choose to believe the circumstance or God’s word? Did God really care? If you cared about someone you wouldn’t leave them out to dry, hide something from them or not use your power to protect them, right? 

The problem with judging God from our circumstance is our lack of knowledge of the whole story. When we stop short at Lazarus dying, our judgment is limited. We don’t know the whole story. We don’t realize that Lazarus’ resurrection would quadruple the amount of people coming into the Kingdom of God. 

If we stop short in the storm on the water that Jesus is sleeping through, we miss the deep seated awe that resulted in the disciples witnessing Jesus controlling the wind and sea. 

The serpent planted one of the most dangerous seeds in Eve’s heart in Genesis: questioning God’s love for her.

It’s the oldest trick in the book : make them doubt that God loves them.

Do you believe God loves you? 

Do you question how He really feels about you sometimes? Especially when you don’t “have it all together”? 

Can I tell you, friend, Paul didn’t write these words in vain. They were written to encourage you at this very moment. 

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:38-39‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

If God’s love was equal to health, wealth and happiness, then Jesus must have been hated. Jesus told us clearly, in this world you will have tribulation (emphasis mine). It’s guaranteed. But focus your eyes on the cross and the sacrifices he made to come close to you. Hear Him whisper over you “I love you” before you judge. You haven’t quite gotten to the end of the story. 

As a precious mother once told me, “Keep on living, baby”.

Do others tell you that you are intimidating?

“So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.” Exodus‬ ‭34:30‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/114/exo.34.30.NKJV

You are wondering why people react differently to you. Why you are so misunderstood and sometimes seem to be irritating to some, when all you do is strive for peace - even to your own hurt. This word from God is for you: 

You are trying to fit in when I specifically designed you to stick out. Just as Saul the king was designed to stick out above the crowd physically (“And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.” I Samuel‬ ‭9:2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/114/1sa.9.2.NKJV),

I have designed you to stick out spiritually. People react differently to you because they see your face shining like Moses’ because you’ve been hidden away with me. Moses tried to veil the glory so he wouldn’t intimidate others BUT it was futile. In the same way, drop all the futile gestures used to make others feel more comfortable and instead stand in who I’ve made you to be. Get used to being stared at like the sign and wonder you are. You were designed to draw others to Jesus. Don’t try to shrink, instead use the amazement to bring them to Jesus.