Thinking of Giving up on God: Read This First
Years ago, I vividly remember the day I decided to turn away from God. I decided that if he wasn’t going to be faithful to me, I was done living for him. Maybe you can relate. Maybe you’re thinking of giving up on God today, too.
You’re not alone.
The day I gave up on God, I blamed him for my pain, and I was angry about it.
Giving Up on God
Like me, maybe you’re facing a heartbreaking loss, and you wonder why God seems silent. The instant your life went off the rails, God seemed to leave you alone in your despair. Maybe you feel forgotten, and you’re not sure where to turn.
Hurting friend, I’ve been where you are.
I was right there—in the thick middle of my lowest moment—the year when everything seemed to fall apart.
When I told a friend about my pain, she said, “You might have given up on God, but he’ll never turn his back on you.”
I didn’t believe her.
Even if her words were true, I didn’t care. All I wanted was a break from my pain. What I didn’t realize was that giving up on God would not solve my problem. It would only make it worse.
God’s Calling Often Takes You Lower Before You Go Higher
Perhaps you’re angry with God, and you’ve decided to walk away from him.
Let me offer you a gentle word for this difficult season. An invitation awaits you: You can harden your heart and turn away from God in offense, or you can keep your heart soft and let this moment be a gateway into the abundant life God has planned for you.
Giving up on God might seem tempting, but if you turn away from him, you will miss out on his healing, restoration, and grace.
I know what it looks like to grow offended. I’ve told God that if he’s not holding up his end of the deal, I’m not holding up mine. I’ve walked away from him for long, hard seasons. (Read more about this here.)
Meanwhile, before God can raise us up and into the high callings he has for us, he almost always has to take us to the low places first. Without the low moments, you won’t have the strength or stamina to go where God is calling you to go.
Before giving up on God and turning away from him, I invite you to take a few moments to consider what God is doing while you are hurting.
Before Giving Up on God, Read This:
1. In your darkest moment, God is right beside you.
It probably feels like God has abandoned you.
Maybe you sit in the darkness with your broken heart, and the sinking feeling in your chest tells you no one really cares. Some insidious voice tells you God doesn’t care; if God cared, your life wouldn’t have fallen apart.
I’ve heeded the voice that tells me God has forsaken me a few times myself.
But there is truth for you today: That voice is a liar.
God has promised never to leave you or forsake you (see Deuteronomy 31:6). He has promised that he is close to the brokenhearted (see Psalm 34:18).
God has not left you.
He is close.
He is with you.
Even if you can’t feel his presence, believe this truth. Believe it because he has written it to you as a promise for the times when your emotions betray you. God’s Word is unchanging. Our emotions betray us. Cling to his Word today.
2. Jesus weeps with you.
Do you wonder what Jesus is doing while you suffer?
You might wonder if he has turned his back on you.
Rest assured that this is not the case. Jesus overflows with compassion and love for you. When you weep, he weeps with you (see John 11:35).
He has not turned a cold shoulder, and he is not indifferent to your pain.
Bad things happen because we live in a broken world. God doesn’t take delight in the terrible events that take place in our lives. These moments break his heart.
Bad things happen because we live in a broken world. God doesn't take delight in the terrible events that take place in our lives. These moments break his heart. #faith #God Click To TweetHe permits them because we live in a world in which broken people are given the free will to make their own decisions. Often, these decisions hurt us. Additionally, Satan prowls around this earth looking for people to destroy. One day, God will abolish his work forever. Until then, we are called to resist Satan.
Satan wants you to turn away from God in offense. When you do this, Satan wins.
Instead of turning away from the Lord, I invite you to turn away from this screen, close your eyes, and imagine his arms holding you.
Pour your heart out to him.
Tell him everything, even the hard and ugly parts.
He can take it.
And then, let him hold you. He will never give up on you, and he wants to use this difficult time for good in your life. Furthermore, when your heart is broken, his heart breaks, too. He is near, and he is fighting for you, not against you.
3. God bends low to defend you in your lowest moment.
Last, Jesus bends down to defend you in your pain.
In the eighth chapter of John’s gospel, we find a woman who is about to be stoned to death for committing adultery. I imagine you know the story.
She was caught in the act, and the religious people seemed eager to seek justice. She was half-naked, lying in the dirt, about to meet her bloody death as judgmental critics bludgeon her to death with rocks.
More than any other passage of Scripture, this passage shows me the posture Jesus takes in my lowest moments.
Do you remember what he does?
He bends low with the woman.
He begins writing in the dirt—and in doing so, he steps into her mess with her. Jesus isn’t afraid to get her dirt on his hands. He’s not afraid of your dirt either.
Jesus also defends the woman. He invites any of the onlookers to cast a stone, provided they are without sin. The crowd leaves. The woman is alone with Jesus in her lowest moment. Jesus forgives her of her sins and tells her to go and sin no more.
Regardless of whether your lowest moment is any fault of your own, Jesus is right here with you. He isn’t afraid of your dirty places. He is fighting for you.
God isn’t afraid to bend low and sit in the dirt with you. When the heart-shaping work of this low moment has molded you to look more like Christ—when the time is right—he will gently lead you to higher ground.
God Won’t Give Up on You
As for me, I gave up on God for several years.
Meanwhile, God never gave up on me.
When living for my desires burned me, I returned to him. Surprisingly, I sensed him waiting with open arms, running to me, and freely forgiving me.
He waits for you, too. He will never give up on you.
My prayer for you is that you will keep pressing forward. Run to God when the pain is too much to bear. (For practical insights on what it looks like to run to God, join me here.) Your heavenly Father has not abandoned you. He is fighting on your behalf this very moment.
Before Giving Up on God, Read This:
Before you go, I have a gift for you.
Today, I invite you to give God another chance. You aren’t here by accident. He is pursuing you because he loves you. For a limited time, I’m offering a free chapter from my book, Lean Into Grace. The title of this chapter is “Crying in the Bathroom,” and it will help you experience God’s tender comfort when life is hard. Download this chapter right here today with promo code GRACE. God is waiting to do a work of healing and restoration in your heart. 
