Does suffering mean that God doesn’t care about me?

Psalm 56:8You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.

Our suffering matters to God because we matter to God. He created us personally, and he created us for a purpose. God’s care is such that not even a single tear goes unnoticed. He knows our every pain and will one day lead us to ultimate joy and victory in an eternal life with him.

Psalm 22:24He [the Lord] has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy. He has not turned his back on them, but has listened to their cries for help.

Suffering is not a sign of God’s absence; it is a fact of life in this fallen world. God is with us in the midst of life’s struggles. He may not remove them from our lives, but he does promise to help us get through them.

John 16:33“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

1 Peter 4:12-13Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.

Sometimes we may suffer for what we believe. Whether we are mocked, teased, ignored, or physically harmed, God notices and will reward us for our faith and loyalty.

Psalm 23:4Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

God sticks with us even in our most intense suffering.

Isaiah 53:3He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

John 11:33-35When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. “Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept.

Hebrews 5:8Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.

Jesus hurts when we hurt. He knows the depth of every pain. He not only cares, but he also shares our sorrows.