Last week we began with a foundational message on 'Dealing With Our Feelings'. This evening we want to consider what to do when we feel like God is not interested.
I heard about a man who was near the end of his life. While lying in a hospital bed dying of cancer, he spoke with his wife of some 60 years.
That is how some folks feel about the Lord! They got saved, they were excited, and everyone in the church was excited for them. It seemed as though everything was perfect, heaven on earth…and then Satan comes along and attacks. All of a sudden their new life in Christ turns into a spiritual battleground and they begin to wonder. Where is God? Isn't He interested in me anymore? Has He forgotten about me? Doesn't He care what is going on in my life? Whether we want to admit it or not, many of us have been there, and perhaps some of us are there right now! Feeling like God isn't interested in us anymore. That is exactly where the disciples were in our text tonight. [3] Read Text: v35-41
Now we understand what caused them to question whether the Lord was interested in them or not. It was because of the storm. They panicked and went to Jesus for help, but found Him asleep…seemingly uninterested in what is going on. This prompts their question in v38.
(Mark 4:38) "… Master, carest thou not that we perish?"
I want us to consider that it is the storm that causes us to question whether God is really interested in what is happening in our lives. Note your outline tonight.
I. The Causes of These Feelings.
A. Sin - (Prov 8:36) "But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death."
1. Sin can cause us to feel like God doesn't care about us anymore.
2. We have been studying on Wednesday evenings the importance of adding to our faith.
(2 Pet 1:9) "But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins."
3. That means that if we do not build on the foundation of faith in our lives…
4. If we allow sin to dominate our life, and then trials and difficulties come…
5. We are in danger of getting into a situation where we are blinded to the Truth.
6. We may even forget that we have been saved!
7. Sin will blind us to who we are, and we lose our identity…not our salvation…but our identity.
8. We then begin to feel like God doesn't care about us anymore.
B. Troubles (trials and temptations)
1. Sometimes the trouble is the result of our sin…
2. But there are other times when troubles come even when we are trying to live for God.
3. Remember Job?
4. The result can be that we begin to feel like God isn't interested in us anymore.
5. We begin to question whether or not He really cares…
6. We may even think that He has fallen asleep!
(James 1:2-3) "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; {3} Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience."
(Psa 34:6) "This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles."
C. Others
1. If we were to survey everyone in this auditorium on what makes them extremely happy…and then what makes them extremely sad.
2. For 90% the answer to both would be a person!
3. We need people don't we?
4. The words to an old Barbara Streisand song goes like this: "People, People who need people Are the luckiest people in the world…"
5. And yet people can cause us so much heartache.
6. There are many today that their own homes are so chaotic and storm-ridden that they think that God has forgotten them.
7. No wonder we begin to wonder if God is interested in us anymore…why would He send these people into my life?
(2 Tim 2:24) "And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,"
8. This is a great verse because it tells us that if we are going to serve the Lord, we cannot waste our efforts fighting all the time with people. "must not strive"
D. Reasoning (human reasoning)
(Mat 16:8) "Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?"
1. The word in the Greek is 'dialogizomai' and literally means to talk to yourself in your mind.
2. When we begin to reason with our own human reasoning and try to figure out what God is doing…
3. We may conclude that He is no longer interested in us or what is going on in our lives.
E. Money
1. How does money cause us to question whether God is interested in us?
2. Often it is the mismanagement of money that causes us to feel He isn't interested in us.
3. We fail to handle finances according to biblical principles and then wonder why we are not seeing the blessings of God.
4. Then we begin to blame God for our mistakes!
(1 Tim 6:10) "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."
II. Contemplating These Feelings.
A. Remember that God blesses obedience.
(Deu 11:26-27) "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; {27} A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:"
1. Even in the midst of the storm, God's promises are still true…don't quit doing what you know is right!
2. Samuel instructed King Saul that to obey is better than sacrifice!
3. The songwriter put it this way, "Trust and obey for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey."
B. Remember that God is always present.
(Heb 13:5) "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
1. God is not a liar!
2. He is there in the midst of every storm!
3. Sometimes we must get our eyes off the storm and look for Him, but He is there.
4. Elisha prayed that God would open up the eyes of his servant (2 Ki. 6:17) and then he saw the Lord's protection all around.
C. Remember that God is still in control.
(Mark 4:41) "And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"
1. Most of us are out of control most of the time, but God is always in control.
2. The disciples thought that their circumstances were uncontrollable, and they were until Jesus stood up and rebuked the storm.
3. This amazed them but it shouldn't surprise us; after all, He is the one who created all things!
4. Since He is the creator of all, then all is under His control.
III. Curing These Feelings.
A. Fact overcomes Feeling
1. Too often we allow our feelings to be in control.
2. So many struggle with their salvation experience.
a. Ro. 10:9, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
b. Then Satan or one of his minions comes along and says do you 'feel' saved?
c. Did you hear voices, did you see visions, did you speak with tongues, did you … just fill in the blank.
d. We begin to question, am I really saved?
3. We must keep the focus of our faith upon the fact of the Word of God not the feeling that comes and goes.
(Heb 11:6) "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
B. We MUST believe that God is interested in our:
1. Soul
(Psa 142:4) "I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul."
(John 3:16) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
(2 Pet 3:9) "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
a. God is definitely interested in our soul.
b. If we for a moment believe that God isn't interested in us, then we have fallen for the lie of the devil.
c. He has proven to us throughout history, how much He cares for us!
2. Spirituality
a. Not only is He interested in our soul or our salvation…
b. He is interested in our spiritual growth once we have accepted Him.
c. He wants to see us become what He has intended for us to be.
(Phil 1:6) "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"
3. Sufferings
a. Whatever we go through in this life.
b. Losing our job, the devastation of a divorce, physical sickness or hardship, the loss of a loved one.
c. When these things happen, we may be tempted to think that no one understands what we are going through.
d. But God is interested in us in times of suffering.
(Heb 4:15) "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."
e. God is not a force, He is a person, and because He is a person, He is touched by the feeling of our infirmities.
4. Situations.
a. Often we tend to think that our situation is unique.
b. But the truth is that God knows all about our situation, and He has commanded us to cast all our care upon Him.
c. If we are going to cure the feeling that God isn't interested in us, we must believe the truth of Scripture.
d. God is interested in our souls, our spiritual growth, our sufferings, and our situations.
e. The song writer said, "Only believe, only believe…all things are possible if you only believe."
Is God interested in you? Yes, He is. Let me close with this poem.
Jesus and Jim
A minister passing through his church In the middle of the day, Decided to pause by the altar And see who had come to pray. Just then the back door opened, A man came down the aisle, The minister frowned as he saw The man hadn't shaved in a while. His shirt was kinda shabby And his coat was worn and frayed. The man knelt, he bowed his head, Then rose and walked away. In the days that followed, Each noontime came this chap, Each time he knelt just for a moment, A lunch pail in his lap.
Well, the minister's suspicions grew, With robbery a main fear, He decided to stop the man and ask him, What are you doing here?" The old man said, he worked down the road. Lunch was half an hour. Lunchtime was his prayer time, For finding strength and power. "I stay only moments, see, Because the factory is so far away; As I kneel here talking to the Lord, This is kinda what I say: "I Just Came Again To Tell You, Lord, How Happy That I've Been, Since We Found Each Other's Friendship And You Took Away My Sin. Don't Know Much Of How To Pray, But I Think About you Everyday. So, Jesus, This Is Jim Checking In."
The minister feeling foolish, Told Jim, that was fine. He told the man he was welcome To come and pray just anytime. Time to go, Jim smiled, said "Thanks." He hurried to the door. The minister knelt at the altar, He'd never done it before. His cold heart melted, warmed with love, And met with Jesus there. As the tears flowed, in his heart, He repeated old Jim's prayer: "I Just Came Again To Tell You, Lord, How Happy That I've Been, Since We Found Each Other's Friendship And You Took Away My Sin. I Don't Know Much Of How To Pray, But I Think About You Everyday. So, Jesus, This Is the Preacher Checking In."
Past noon one day, the minister noticed That old Jim hadn't come. As more days passed without Jim, He began to worry some. At the factory, he asked about him, Learning he was ill. The hospital staff was worried, But he'd given them a thrill. The week that Jim was with them, Brought changes in the ward. His smiles, a joy contagious. Changed people, were his reward. The head nurse couldn't understand Why Jim was so glad, When no flowers, calls or cards came, Not a visitor he had. The minister stayed by his bed, He voiced the nurse's concern: No friends came to show they cared. He had nowhere to turn.[
Looking surprised, old Jim spoke up And with a winsome smile; "The nurse is wrong, she couldn't know, That in here all the while Everyday at noon He's here, A dear friend of mine, you see, He sits right down, takes my hand, Leans over and says to me: "I Just Came Again To Tell You, Jim, How Happy That I Have Been, Since We Found This Friendship, And I Took Away Your Sin. Always Love To Hear You Pray, I Think About You Each Day, And So Jim,This Is Jesus Checking In."
If you want to get victory over the feeling that God isn't interested in you, just believe. Have faith in God and in His Word!