What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things (Rom. 8:31-32)?

One of my pastorates was in a rugged coal mining region. There I was taught much of how faith could survive and thrive through the difficulties of life.

The story was told of an old man made an invalid by a mining injury early in life. A lifetime of struggle did not steal his faith, and a younger man came to ask, “Why?”

The old man smiled at the question and responded. “Yes, sometimes Satan comes to my bedside. He points out my window to friends with fine homes, growing families, and healthy bodies. Then, he taunts me by asking, “Does God love you?”

The younger man gasped at the honesty of the invalid, and asked, “What do you say to Satan, when he asks you that?”

Said the old man in the bed, “I take Satan by the hand to a hill called Calvary. There, I point to the thorns on Jesus’ brow and to the nails in hands and feet, and I say to Satan, “Doesn’t God love me!”

If we try to prove God’s love by pointing to our circumstances in a fallen world, we will fail. But, if we point to his character revealed at the Cross, then we need never doubt his eternal love. When God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, he proved for all time and circumstances his love for us.

Prayer:
Father, help me not to look to my circumstances but to your character for the assurance of your love that I need every day until Jesus returns to this fallen world for me.