Raising Your Grandchildren Uzorak

 Does God Really Care?

Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Unable to conquer her drug addictions or satisfy court requirements, Rachel’s daughter was forced to give up her two children to adoption by Rachel and Lee. The trauma of being taken away from their parents and starting over was distressing for everyone. Months of sleepless nights with a child who could not be consoled resulted in a period of complete isolation for her.

Now feeling alone, disconnected, and depressed, she began to wonder if God even cared. “Did God see me? Did He know what we were going through? Did He care for my daughter’s heart while I couldn’t be there for her?” Sound familiar?

The Apostle Paul may not have been a grandfather raising his own grandchildren, but he did understand suffering, pain, and isolation. And he also knew the secret for coping with it all.

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. (Ephesians 1:17-23; emphasis added)

Do you see the foundational objective of Paul’s prayer for believers? He wants us to receive what God wants to give us—His Spirit of wisdom and revelation. He prayed this because he knew that it was essential to 1) know God better, 2) know the hope to which we have been called, and 3) grasp the incomparably great power of God that He gives to us who believe.

Let that sink in for a moment. Our ability to trust God for what He wants to do for us no matter what life may throw at us depends entirely upon what we believe about Him. This is important because we do what we believe. We may not always do what we profess, but we will do what we believe.

If you believe that God is good and that He truly desires your best, that His divine power has given you everything you need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), then you will earnestly seek more of His Spirit of wisdom and revelation. If you don’t believe it, you won’t.

Jesus never promised escape from troubles. In fact, He told us to expect trouble in this life. You know what I mean. He also reminded us that He has overcome all of that so we can face those troubles with hope and perseverance. 

Hope allows us to say, “All things God works for the good of those who love Him [because we know Him], and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28), because He really does care.

Prayer: Lord, teach me to trust that you really do care and want what is good and best for me in all things.