When God Fails You

Have you ever found yourself in a season of earnestly praying and asking God to deliver you from a trial, only to find that God feels nowhere near you, your prayers have not been answered, and now on top of that you feel failed by God?

I have found myself in this predicament many times. In fact, just recently I suffered a miscarriage. It has been traumatic both physically and emotionally and it has truly brought out spiritual warfare I thought I wouldn’t have to face again.

I hear the Enemy whisper lies like, “God could have answered all your prayers for a healthy pregnancy and baby with a yes, but he doesn’t love you enough.”

Or “you aren’t good enough for God to want to bless.”

Or “God has failed you because he doesn’t care and isn’t good”

Fearful thoughts like these have been the most prevalent lies on repeat in my mind.

As I have been mourning I find myself turning to worship music to realign my focus on what really matters in my life and what I believe in: a good and loving God.

I have been struck by how many Christian worship songs contain the phrase, “He never fails” or “he won’t ever fail you”

This line feels like a petty dismissal of my loss. I prayed for my baby before conception, I prayed over her every day of my pregnancy and when she died in utero and I had to birth death, I was left shattered and permanently changed.

How can so many worship songs say that God will never fail me when I feel so deeply betrayed and failed?

I have read the Bible cover to cover many times, and try as I might, I cannot find a verse that says “God will never fail those who believe in him.” God is a master author and his precision of language is always intentional and meant to invite us into deeper understanding of his personhood.

The Bible frequently states that God never fails to keep his promises ( 2 Peter 3:9, Joshua 23:14) or that God never fails to be faithful (2 Thes. 3:3, Exodus 34:6-7), That his love is steadfast and unfailing (1 John 4:8,Rom. 8:38-39, 1 Chron. 16:34), or that God’s character is immutable, unchanging and therefore unfailing (Psalm 55:19, Mal. 3:6, Heb. 13:8).

But nowhere in scripture does it say that God won’t fail to answer my prayers as I wish. Or that God won’t fail to give me everything I really need, or that God won’t fail to prosper me, bless me, make me comfortable or make my life everything I deem as good. No where in scripture does it say that God won’t fail to sustain the life of my unborn baby because I prayed over her.

So if God doesn’t promise to never fail us, what is the point of living a life devoted to him? Why do I worship a God who allows my prayers for my baby’s health to be met with a “no?”

Here is what I have come up with:

My purpose in life is not to be as comfortable as possible. My purpose in life is not even to be happy or content. My purpose in life is a shared purpose with all of Christ’s followers and that is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

Merriam-Webster defines ‘Glorify’ as “ bestowing honor, praise, or admiration” and in scripture it often carries the meaning of giving weight or authority to God.

Dictionary.com defines ‘Enjoy’ as both receiving pleasure and delight in, as well as to possess and benefit from

By understanding the meaning of these words it helps bring clarity to what my purpose in life is.

My purpose in life is to choose to honor, trust, praise, and admire my Holy Father God and in doing this I find both delight and pleasure in my life and am benefitted.

When I understand my purpose it naturally leads to the next question, Is my Father-God trustworthy of my glory and enjoyment? Is the God who allowed my very wanted baby to die worth my adoration and delight?

This brings us to God’s Character, which the Bible very clearly tells us is unchanging, resolute, and loving.

Here is what I know about God’s character:

He is an aide and protector in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1)

He is loving and merciful (Ephesians 2:4-5)

He is my comforter (2 Corinthians 1:3)

He is patient (Psalm 103:8)

He is kind (Isaiah 54:8 & 63:7)

He is good (Psalm 31:19)

He is Holy (Psalm 99:5, 1 Pet. 1:15-16)

He is all knowing and wise (1 Sam. 2:3, Psalm 147:5)

He is my Father (Isaiah 64:8, 1 John 3:1)

He is my redeemer (Job 19:25, Psalm 19:14, Titus 2:14)

There is so much more the Bible reveals about God’s character, but for the sake of keeping this article a short read, I am going to limit myself to just these few incredible attributes of God.

In the midst of my agony and sorrow, Satan whispered, “He has abandoned you, he isn’t good, look at your loss. God has failed you, he isn’t trustworthy.”

If I look at my loss, and fail to hold onto my purpose and God’s character those lies start to seem true. This is why it is so important to know what your life’s purpose ultimately is, and who God really is, because this is how you anchor yourself to eternal truth when the storm is so large that it threatens to engulf you.

No where in scripture is the phrase, “God will never fail you” and this is really important. I believe it is because God knew if he claimed something as vague and nonspecific as that, we would get it into our heads that what we see as good not being done is God utterly failing us.

When my baby died, the Holy Spirit was with me. When I felt as though I was drowning in my misery and grief, God imparted his peace and enabled me to keep living even though I wanted to lay down and die. In the midst of my suffering, He showed love, mercy, compassion and faithfulness. He never failed to keep his promises.

When Christian’s say, “God will never fail us,” we don’t mean that God will never fail to answer our prayers the way we want, that he will never fail to keep all trials and tribulations far far away from us, or that sorrow and tragedy will never touch our lives. No, what we mean when we say that God will never fail us, is that even in the midst of sorrow, he never fails to be our source of hope and comfort. Even in the midst of hardship, he never fails to strengthen us and lead us in the right path. Even when he answers our prayers for life, for increase, for growth, for good, with “No,” he never fails to be our provider, protector, and worthy of our praise.

Your life’s purpose is to make the world a better place because you glorify and enjoy a loving relationship with your Father-God and by living your life’s purpose you win souls to heaven.

God is trustworthy, loving, merciful, and compassionate.

I pray that knowing this allows you to find solace in your suffering and strength in your season of hardship. I also take great comfort in this verse that sums up how God brings purpose to our pain

2 Corinthians 1:4

He comforts us in all our afflictions, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

Your suffering hurts God’s heart and he is always moved to soothe and comfort his children, but this blessing is not only for ourselves, it is so that we can offer this same comfort to the hurting and broken world around us.

I pray that you allow God to hold you close and comfort you in your season of hurting so that you may be able to bring this same holy healing to a lost world that desperately needs to know the love and peace of God.