Does He care?
(Key Texts: Exodus 17:7; Psalm 56:8; Isaiah 49:15; Galatians 6:18; Ephesians 2:6)
Our word for this session is the Hebrew shāmaʿ.
This word means much more than just “to hear.”
For God, to hear is to listen and to act.
When the people of Israel cried out in slavery, the Bible says God “heard” their groaning and came to save them (Exodus 2:24).
So, to say that God doesn’t hear our prayers is a misunderstanding of who He is.
Yet, in every generation, people still ask, “Does God really see us? Does He care?”
Eternal Word
When the city of Jerusalem was under siege, the historian Josephus wrote about the bitter cries of its people, many of whom cursed heaven for abandoning them.
But even he admitted their fall was not because God was absent, but because of their own violence and rebellion.
In a similar way, in the desert, the Israelites tested God at a place they named “Massah and Meribah,” saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7).
History shows us the same pattern: when we suffer, it’s easy for our hearts to lose sight of the One who suffers with us.
Divine Wisdom
The psalmist reminds us: “You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?” (Psalm 56:8).
The prophet Isaiah gives us a picture of a loving mother, asking: “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).
And Jesus Himself promised His disciples, “Even the hairs of your head are all numbered” (Luke 12:7).
This powerful testimony leaves no room to accuse God of being indifferent.
Illustration
Imagine a child who sulks and says his mother doesn’t love him because she won’t give him a third cookie.
He sees her refusal, not her protection; her absence, not her care.
But the mother smiles, knowing her love is deeper than his simple wish.
In the same way, God’s silence is sometimes His mercy, and His delay is often the shelter of His wisdom.
A Gentle Puzzle
Why do we so quickly confuse silence with absence, and a “no” with a lack of care?
Could it be that our understanding of love is too small, shaped more by our own desires than by the truth?
Quotes
- Albert Camus:
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
“God does not give us everything we want, but He does fulfill His promises.”
Hidden Nearness
To say God does not care is to misread the story He has written in blood and tears.
He counts every drop of sorrow, and His silence is not abandonment but preparation for a greater revelation.
For in Christ, He has already raised us up and seated us with Himself (Ephesians 2:6), proving once and for all His nearness.
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