The God Who Cares | Ep. 225
https://www.blanchardnetwork.com/show/speak-life-church Does God really care about you? Or are we just an insignificant speck in an obscure corner of the universe, alone and forgotten? To put it another way, are we only here by chance? Or did God deliberately put us here, and is He deeply and personally concerned about each one of us? From one end of the Bible to the other, the answer is a BIG yes! How do I know this? I know it first of all because God put within each of us a desire to know Him. We may mock it or deny it—but our hunger for God is still there, and it can only be satisfied by coming to know Him in a personal way. But I know it most of all because of Jesus Christ. He was God in human form, who came into the world to demonstrate God’s love for us. You will learn much about God by looking at the world He created—but you’ll learn far more by looking at Jesus Christ. Open your life to Him today. The Bible says, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God … has made him known” (John 1:18). It’s all through the Word of God (Bible). I am going to quote a boatload of Scripture this week for you to examine, read, and signify personally. Trust but verify! “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7) For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” Isaiah 41:13 God doesn’t simply send an angel to hold your right hand. The God of heaven and earth personally holds your right hand. This is a figurative expression of his closeness to us and his personal care for us. He says that we are not to fear because he personally helps us – “I am the one who helps you.” Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 Here God says that he personally will be with us, strengthen, help and uphold us. For this reason, we need not fear or be dismayed when facing or going through tough times. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. Isaiah 43.2 We will all “pass through waters” and rivers of hardship and uncertainty and walk through the fires of life. But God promises, “I will be with you.” Personally. Presently. In the midst of the fire, like he was with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Psalm 32.8 This is one of my life verses. God himself, the fountain of infinite wisdom and knowledge, promises to personally instruct and teach his children. And he promises to counsel us with his eye upon us. He is watching over us every second. He never slumbers nor sleeps. And he counsels us step by step, day by day, with his eye constantly watching over our every step. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Psalm 23.1-3 In this, one of the most well known passages in the Bible, God tells us he cares for us intimately and personally. He leads us. Feeds us, gives us rest in him. Our good shepherd feeds us and refreshes us in his word – in green pastures. He personally restores our souls when we are weary and drained. He personally leads us in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake – so that we will bring glory to his name. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. Isaiah 40:11 Our good Shepherd gathers us in his arms and carries us “in his bosom,” a picture of intimacy and closeness and deep care, and he gently leads us. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5.6-7 God isn’t so busy running the universe that he doesn’t have time for our petty worries. He tells us to cast all our anxieties on him. Why? Because HE CARES FOR YOU. He cares about you. He cares about your children and grandchildren. He cares about you in your job. He cares about your church. He cares for you, that you would have joy and strength. As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God! Psalm 40.17 The Lord takes thought for us individually – “the Lord takes thought for ME.” You personally are always on his mind. He knows us intimately when we’re “poor and needy” spiritually, emotionally, or physically. And because he takes thought for us he is our help and deliverer. So cry out to him! When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34.17-18 Are you brokenhearted? Crushed in spirit? The Lord is near to you. He is with you and identifies deeply with you. If God tells us to weep with those who weep, how much more does he feel for us in our sadness and pain. And he tells us to cry for help, because he hears the cries of those he has made righteous by the blood of Christ. And our personal Savior will deliver us out of ALL our troubles. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2.13 We were once far off from God, but when we believed in Jesus, God brought us near by his blood. How near? We are one with Christ, in union with him. Adopted as God’s children. No longer far off, but family. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13.5 God will never leave nor forsake us. This is how we can be content in every circumstance. We have God himself, the fountain of life and every good thing, and he will never abandon us. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15 Talk about intimacy! Jesus calls us his friends! Intimate friends. Friends are intimate and share with each other. And Jesus makes known his Father and his Father’s words and ways to us. A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18.24 Jesus is closer to us than any brother, than any family member could ever be. And he sticks close to us. Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Isaiah 49.15 There’s been plenty of times when I’ve had overwhelming troubles and thought, does God even care about what I’m going through? Reflecting on the hard times, now I can see God’s comforting presence through my struggle. Here’s what God says about hard times. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, ESV). And scripture tells us God sees and saves our tears. Did you know somewhere in Heaven your tears are being collected and your sorrows documented? “You have taken account of my miseries; Put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?” (Psalm 56:8 NASB). How precious is that? God not only does He preserve our tears, but He also keeps a record of all the times were sad! I like to think He records the reasons for our sadness. He cares enough to take note and can turn things for our good. The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. Psalm 145:18. No matter what kind of problem you face, God knows what you are going through and He will do whatever He can to help! So cry out your prayers to God. Sometimes the greatest prayer is simple. God help me! Q: What do you need to do if you want gifts from God? A: You keep on seeking God and asking of God. The loving care of God is a theme that runs all throughout the Old and New Testaments (1 Peter 5:7). But God’s care is not one dimensional. He cares both for us physically and spiritually; that is, He cares both for the body and the soul. Jesus, in his sermon on the mount, teaches us about the second of the above. Asking of God was the emphasis in the Lord’s example prayer in Matthew 6. Now, in chapter 7, Jesus reasons with us as to why we should ask of God (Matthew 7:7-11). Jesus shows us that we are dealing with a God different to the gods of human imagination. They are usually fickle and often cruel. The true Father in heaven is anxious to give good things generously, to all his children who ask of him in the proper spirit (2Corinthians 9:8; James 4:3). The gifts that God gives in answer to our requests are never disappointing gifts. Jesus pictures a son who asks for bread, and his father picks up a stone. A stone might have a similar shape and appearance to a small loaf, but it would be no use to a hungry boy. Or maybe the son asks for a fish, and his father catches an eel or a sea snake. A Jewish boy could not eat such a "fish", because it would be unclean food to him. God is not a father like that. When we ask of God, we receive good gifts. Paul put this principle in very strong words: God is "able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think" and we can be "filled up to all the fulness of God" (Ephesians 3:14-21). John says, "We know that he hears us in whatever we ask, so we know that we have the requests which we have asked from him" (1John 5:14-15; 3:22). No wonder Jesus says, "Ask and it shall be given you". Human mothers have a deep care and affection and concern for their nursing children. Human mothers have deep compassion on their infants. Yet someti
