Never Let Me Down

There are quite a few different worship songs that have lyrics similar to, you are never going to let me down or God has never failed me. 

Sometimes I have difficulty singing these words, because I feel like, honestly,... God has let me down. And I suspect I'm not the only person who has ever felt this way.

There are two main types of situations I think can lead to feeling as though God has let us down. The first, is when God's people let us down. When Christians - especially those in leadership - hurts us, disappoint us, deceive us, etc. - those experiences can transfer to how we see God. Christians are supposed to be Christ-like, representatives of Christ, representatives of God! If they are behaving badly, they give us a poor experience of God. We may feel as though He let us down, when it was really the human beings who let us down.

There is no easy answer to when Christians are at fault. I wrote a post on this topic, When Church Hurts. We cannot simply dismiss the pain the Church and Church people have caused. I truly believe God grieves the hurt caused by the Church. For: "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" (Psalms 34:18). Separating the harm caused by men from our relationship with God is a complicated process.

Another situation where we may feel like God has let us down, is when we were counting on Him to do something that He didn't do. This is often related to our circumstances.

The latter is what relates to me. Specifically, the reason why I felt as though God let me down was because I went through something incredibly difficult, and I prayed and prayed that God would take me out of it, but He did not. At least, not in the timeframe that I wanted.

But why should that be a surprise? Even the apostle Paul, with the high calling on his life and all the work he did for God, even he suffered!

In 2 Corinthians 11, he detailed the ways: "Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked."

If even Paul wasn't spared suffering, why should we expect to? (Not to mention all the ways Jesus Himself suffered!)

God never promises to take us out of difficult situations or to spare us from difficulties to begin with. God never promises to give us everything we desire. In fact, often the opposite is true. "In this world, you will have trouble," Jesus told the disciples. And, "The world will hate you because of me" (of course, often the world hates us because of us).

I think one of the most misunderstood and misused verses in the Bible is Romans 8:28. In the NIV, it says: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." People often interpret this verse to mean that everything happens for a reason, and God will bring something good out of every situation.

There are many theologians and Greek scholars however who disagree. They argue that the intention of this verse is to refer to a greater good, a big picture good, rather than to individual situations. It certainly does not mean we will only experience good things in this life. We know this not to be true.

We should remember that God's idea of good may differ from our idea of good. His purposes are not our own. And He sees more than we do. Rather than promising good in this life, this promise is likely referring to the end good, the good that will win. We may not understand the things we go through here on Earth, but we know love wins in the end. God wins in the end. Eternity awaits the faithful.

All around the world today, Christians are being persecuted, beaten, abused, even killed for the Gospel. For claiming the name of Jesus. The "good"? The witness of their lives to unbelievers, and the glory that awaits them in Paradise. We are so spoiled here that we have no idea what it really means to be persecuted for our beliefs. This has skewed our theology.

This is why I argue that we have confused privilege with blessing. We believe (erroneously) that we are blessed because we are a "Christian nation". We fight furiously to keep looking Christian so we can maintain the "blessing". We fail to recognize it is actually privilege which has "blessed" us. It is the privilege of being the main dominate culture and religion. And as that privilege is being called out and the culture is shifting towards more a more equitable society - and rightly so - it is scary for a lot of people. Hence the push towards a political solution.

God doesn't promise us a Christian nation - nor did He ever call us to create one. He doesn't promise us comfort or privilege or prosperity. Seeking after such things isn't seeking God's kingdom, but rather, our own.

In the same letter, shortly after the passage I quoted above, Paul wrote this:

"Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" (2 Corinthians 12:7b-8)

Yes, we will go through hardships, through suffering, through hard times. No, we can't count on God to keep us out of them. BUT. BUT we can count on God to be with us during them. To extend His grace, to maintain His love, to surround us with His presence.

So yes, we will be let down by God if we are expecting Him to keep us out of all difficulties.

I want to interject here that by no means do I mean to diminish or belittle the pain and suffering we experience. The pain and suffering you have experienced. I teach about trauma - and I have experienced it myself - I know; I know. I think in a sense, recognizing Romans 8:28 is not promising good from all situations is actually freeing. There may not be good in your situation. It may just suck. It may just be awful. Because we live in a broken world, torn up by evil and by sin and by selfishness, and we cannot escape it.

BUT, God.

God is with us. We are not alone in our suffering. And, we know there is also beauty in the world. And love and surprises and healing and growth and a Spring that always comes regardless of how bad the Winter was. One day, all the Earth will be renewed. We will be renewed in bodies that work and no longer ache, in a new life where nothing will ever hurt us again.

Hold on to God. There is so much we can count on Him for. The Bible promises us God's love never fails. The Bible says God is always with us. The Bible says when we call on Him, He hears us. He hears our prayers, He accompanies us in our pain, and He continues to love us unconditionally, even when we are lost to sin.

And in this way, He will never, ever let us down.