Does God Hate Me?

Nicholas L. Laning

Does God hate me?  Most of us, if not all of us, have wondered this, usually when things are going rough, when things aren't going our way.  We see the signs of difficulty in our life as a form of rejection.  It is as if we are being smote for our lack of whatever it is we think we lack.  

Depression surely magnifies this.  When I was depressed, I struggled mightily with this notion, and those whom I have counseled most definitely did as well.  "So great is the pain, so vast is the torment, that either there is no God, or surely that God despises me wholly," is the thinking.  Unfortunately, outsiders reiterate this sentiment often.  "You're struggling because... (fill in with some sort of deficiency on your part to please God)."  

The question is... is this true?  Does God really hate me?  Is that why I am depressed?  

If we want to know the answer, we cannot answer it by simply checking our feelings.  If I want to know what Abraham Lincoln thought, I don't ask myself, "What do I feel like Lincoln would have said?"  I go read what Lincoln actually said.  So, let's not trust in our feelings overly much.  They are incredibly important, your feelings are, but they are also not always to be trusted.  Importance and trustworthiness are two different things.  Let is look to what God has told us, that we might find the truth about what God says.

Don't skip these!  Read them!

James 1:13-15

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.  

14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Okay, let's see what God just said.  He says he isn't the one tempting, not EVER.  It says he CANNOT, not that He is physically weak, but that it is against His nature to do so.  

If you are unfamiliar with the story, you can read Job to this work out.  Job was considered blameless in God's sight when Satan asked God for permission to tempt Job.  God allowed it.  This may anger you.  Why would God allow a blameless man to be put through so much pain?  

I don't know, not fully.  I have theories, but they are just that.  What I know is that God is not some mean distant God who is up on high laughing and toying with us.  God became man, became a part of the pain, and lived a perfect life, then was tortured beyond what we can imagine.  Not only was Christ tortured by the whip and by crucifixion, but also by the outpouring of God's wrath.  So, you may hate that God allows pain, but you can't call Him distant.  You cannot think him a snob.  He went through hell (literally, not metaphorically) to show you how much he loves you.


One more piece of scripture.  

Romans 8:1 

1 There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Read it!  There is what?  NOW no condemnation...  not then, not later, now.  If you are saved, then you are no longer condemned.  Your depression is not a punishment.  You are not being smote by God.  It has nothing to do with Him being angry at you.  For, if you are saved, then God, when asked about your sin, looks and sees Christ in your stead... right now.  

The hope of the gospel is for those who are depressed as well.  You are not being pushed away.  You are not being hated.  You are being tried, tested, yes, but not hated.  There is a difference.  When you want someone to grow, there is always trial to growth.  God wants you to be strong, for you to grow, and depression can sharpen you.  I am sure you hate hearing this.  You may want to feel you have an excuse to be mad at God, a right to be upset at Him, but you don't.  Sorry.  Being angry at God will accomplish nothing.  Instead, know the truth and don't trust your feelings all the time.  

God loves you NOW, right in the middle of your depression.  Know that the gospel of Christ is still yours.  God's saving grace doesn't stop at the feet of depression.  It gives your pain purpose and gives hope for healing in the future.  Cling to that hope.  That is my prayer for you this day.