Welcome back to the podcast. Today we look again at life when it's at its darkest.

Christians often go through dark seasons and sometimes long, dark seasons. Maybe that's

you right now. Maybe this episode is, um, providentially put into your life right now for a reason.

This is the context for today's email from a young man named Joshua. Joshua lives with his

dad in California. Dear Pastor John, thank you for this podcast. Is there anything I can do to

help God help my dad? We're not in the best living situation. And although we've prayed,

we haven't found a new place to live. I'm actively pursuing the Lord in my mornings and trying to

lead my dad here. Yet he still struggles with his faith. Just last night, he said that he doesn't

feel God's love for him as a son. Life is hard for him right now and God feels distant to him.

What can I say and how can I pray for a dad who does not feel God's love?

Joshua, here's what I would want my son to do for me if I were in a dark place like your dad is

right now. And I could be there. I have been there. There's no Christian who doesn't experience

seasons when God feels distant or when we don't feel His love as sweetly as we would like to.

So first, I would want you, my son, to speak the truth to me about the objective

reality of the love of God in the historical act of the death of his son.

Even though your dad does not now feel the preciousness of the love of God in giving his

only son, he needs to hear it. Faith comes by hearing over and over, not just at the beginning.

Make the connection for him between the love of God and the death of Jesus

because that's the rock solid objective foundation of our feelings of being loved. For example,

Romans 5, 6 to 8 while we were still weak at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person. Though perhaps for a good person,

one would dare even to die, but God shows His love. So He shows, He demonstrates His love for us

...