Sorrowful Stepdaughter
Dear Abigail,
When I shared with my stepmother that she needed Jesus, her response was, “I’ve tried God before and it didn’t work.” What can I do or say to show her that God does indeed care about her life and wants her to be healed?
Sorrowful Stepdaughter
Dear Sorrowful,
It sounds like your stepmother feels like God let her down. When God doesn’t meet our expectations or answer our prayers in the way we want Him to, it is natural to feel disappointed. She may be thinking, why would I need Someone I can’t trust?
Try sharing stories of how God has answered your prayers and provided for you, even when it doesn’t look like you thought it would. She doesn’t have enough experience with the Lord to see His faithful goodness in her life, but you do. Look for the Lord‘s goodness and celebrate it. Look for His faithful provision and thank Him for it. She may write it off at first, but the more stories she hears, the more the truth about His character will sink in.
It sounds like she’s in pain and wanting to be healed. That can be a difficult place to trust in, even for a seasoned believer. Be patient with her (God is!), and don’t forget to pray!
“Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.” Acts 14:3