{"id":4812,"date":"2023-06-13T20:19:34","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T00:19:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=4812"},"modified":"2025-05-04T18:50:37","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T22:50:37","slug":"when-i-dont-feel-gods-lovingkindness-2-2-2-2-2-2-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=4812","title":{"rendered":"If God is With us, Why are These Things Happening? (Republished In the Moments)"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s a fair question.<\/p>\n

Why do difficult things happen to us even, in the midst of God’s presence?<\/p>\n

Many an unbeliever has considered themselves on firm ground with this question. And they like to stoke up others into agreement.  It’s a perplexing dilemma which gives pause to even the most faithful follower of Jesus.<\/p>\n

John the Baptist, sitting in a dungy cell, went from pointing out Jesus as the Lamb of God, to wondering if another should be expected.<\/p>\n

Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples<\/span> and said to Him, \u201cAre You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?\u201d (Matthew 11:2-3<\/strong> NASB).<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Jesus responded, telling John’s disciples to report to him that blind folks were seeing, the lame were walking, lepers were being cleansed, the dead were being raised, and the good news of the gospel was being preached to the poor. [1]<\/p>\n

Then He said, “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me\u201d (Matthew 11:6 <\/strong>NASB).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Offense<\/em><\/span><\/strong>. From the Greek  – to put a stumbling block or impediment in the way, to entice to sin, to cause a person to begin to distrust and desert one whom he ought to trust and obey, to cause to fall away.<\/em><\/p>\n

Jesus goes on to praise John and to say, Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he (Matthew 11:11<\/strong> NASB).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus calls John the greatest among those born of women, yet He realized offense can be taken when circumstances don’t turn out as expected.<\/p>\n

Others have had similar confusion.<\/p>\n

After the angel of the Lord said to Gideon, \u201cThe Lord<\/span> is with you, O valiant warrior.\u201d<\/span>  [2]<\/span> He asked, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?” (Judges 6:13b<\/strong> NASB)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Since God is good and powerful, it seems natural to expect His presence to produce pleasant times. Like John and Gideon we can become disillusioned by how difficult our lives become, especially when we believe the Lord has the power to work things out.<\/p>\n

In the midst of our hard times, how do we keep from stumbling and keep on trusting? How do keep on obeying and not become discouraged?<\/p>\n

Jesus’ early disciples, who lived lives which were anything but smooth, had to learn to look at life from a higher perspective in order to begin to understand this dilemma.<\/p>\n

And so do we.<\/p>\n

What can keep us from taking offense when our lives get hard?<\/p>\n

Blessed Are Those Who Don’t Take Offense.<\/span><\/h3>\n

Jesus’ message to John the Baptist about folks being blessed when they don’t take offense at Him, let’s us know it’s possible to see things in a different way. <\/span><\/p>\n

But how?<\/p>\n

We get some ideas by reading what a couple of Jesus’ disciples wrote after years of following Him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Peter<\/span><\/h4>\n

The early life of Peter is widely known. Most have heard about how he denied Christ three times, even with a curse. [3] <\/span>At that point in his life, though he was one of Jesus’ closest disciples, he hadn’t grasped how God can use hard times to achieve something far greater than carefree days. He was afraid that being truthful about knowing Jesus would be very dangerous to him. <\/span><\/p>\n

Later, scholars think between 35 to 40 years after his denial, he wrote the following verses: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the  dead,<\/span> to obtain<\/i> an inheritance which is<\/i> imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,<\/span>  <\/sup>who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the<\/i> last time.<\/span> In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,<\/span> so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;<\/span> and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,<\/span> obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls (I Peter 1:3-9<\/strong> NASB).<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Through these years, God had been at work, through Peter’s own trials, to give him a view of God’s eternal ways. <\/p>\n

Here’s what he learned about God’s children:.<\/p>\n