Does God hate me?

2. David moves from “Has the Lord rejected me forever?” (vv. 7–9) to “I recall all you have done, O LORD” (vv. 11–12).

3. What changes between those two sections? Is David’s situation different, or has his perspective changed? What does this teach us about the role of remembering God’s character when we’re suffering?

4. 2. Read Psalm 77:7–10 — Honest Questions

5. David asks some incredibly uncomfortable questions about God: “Has the Lord rejected me forever?” “Is his unfailing love gone forever?”

6. What do you notice about the fact that these questions are actually recorded in Scripture? What does Psalm 77 teach us about the difference between honest lament and a lack of faith?

7. 3. Read John 9:1–7 — Suffering and Sin

8. The disciples assume the man’s blindness must be connected to someone’s sin. Jesus rejects their assumption.

9. What assumptions do people today make about why someone is suffering? What does Jesus’ response teach us about our tendency to look for simple explanations for complicated suffering?

10. 4. Read John 16:33 — The Promise Jesus Actually Made

11. Jesus says both, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows” and “Take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

12. Why do you think Jesus gives both statements together? How should this shape the way we live in the midst of our suffering and the suffering of others?

13. 5. Read 1 Corinthians 10:13 — “More Than You Can Handle”

14. Read the entire verse in context.

15. What kind of “temptation” is Paul actually talking about? How is that different from the suffering and circumstances we often mean when we say, “God won’t give you more than you can handle”? Why does this distinction matter?

16. 6. Read 2 Corinthians 4:7–18 — Fragile but Not Abandoned

17. Paul describes believers as “pressed,” “perplexed,” “hunted down,” and “knocked down,” while simultaneously saying they aren’t crushed, driven to despair, abandoned, or destroyed.

18. What do you notice about the difference between Paul’s description of suffering and the promise God gives him in suffering? According to this passage, where does the strength to endure actually come from? How does the life of Jesus model this paradox?

19. 7. Read Job 38:1–7, 40:1–2 — God’s Response to Job

20. God never gives Job the explanation Job has been asking for. Instead, God asks Job questions about creation and His wisdom.

21. Why do you think God responds this way? Is God dismissing Job’s suffering, or is He addressing something deeper? What does Job 38 teach us about the limits of our perspective?

22. 8. Read Job 42:1–6 — The Turning Point

23. Read Job’s response carefully, especially verses 5–6: “I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.”

24. What do you think Job means by this? How is knowing about God different from knowing of God? Can suffering deepen someone’s relationship with God without making the suffering itself “good”? How can you enter into someone else's suffering without minimizing the suffering?

25. 9. Read Romans 8:35–39 — Does Suffering Mean God Has Abandoned Us?

26. Paul specifically lists trouble, calamity, persecution, hunger, poverty, danger, and death—and then asks whether these things can separate us from Christ’s love.

27. What does Paul not promise in this passage? What does he promise? How does that change the way we answer the question, “Does God hate me?”

28. 10. The Central Question — “What Does God Owe Me?”

29. After everything you’ve read, what do you think Scripture says God actually owes us?

30. Then consider the opposite question: What has God already given us that we might overlook when we’re focused on what He hasn’t given us?

31. Finally, read Romans 5:3–6. How does the cross change the way we interpret suffering, hope, and God’s love?

32. Final Question

33. If God doesn’t promise to give us the explanation, outcome, comfort, or circumstances we want, what would it look like this week to trust Him simply because of who He is and that we’ve seen Him?