Are Your Problems Important to God? The Simple Truth from 3 Bible Stories

Inside: Are your problems important to God? Discover the uplifting truth through 3 Bible stories about women whose problems seemed insignificant compared to what was happening around them.

The world can feel like it’s going to hell in a handbasket.

It seems like every other day, people are wreaking havoc on each other on purpose—murder, terrorism, abuse.

Then you have tragic accidents—air disasters, natural disasters, car crashes.

And, of course, everything else—incurable diseases, devastating loss, unbearable suffering.

Amid all this, it may seem unreasonable to expect God to care about your problems. I mean, it’s obvious—He has critical issues on His plate. Your worries pale in comparison.

When you look at it like this, who can blame you for thinking God doesn’t have the time or inclination to deal with your problems?

When you compare them to the real suffering all around you, surely you shouldn’t want more. Surely, you should be content with and grateful for all you have going for you.

Surely.

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First, Know This

I felt this way for a long time.

I was miserable at work. But my job paid well and I figured I had nothing to complain about. So on top of feeling miserable, I also felt ungrateful.

At home, I was in a toxic relationship with a man for whom I was not good enough. But I didn’t recognize his emotional abuse so I told myself I should be grateful and suck it up.

And through it all, I was begging God to rescue me from my unhappiness. But I thought God was silent since it seemed like He never answered my prayers.

Looking out from my own life, I noticed the suffering around me. In comparison, I felt like I had silly first-world problems.

So I wondered, “In the middle of all this, are my problems important to God? How can they be?”

This is where you are now—stacking your problems next to the big ones others are suffering through and wondering if your problems are important to God.

Here’s the thing. God doesn’t compare your problems to other people’s problems.

He’s God. His attention isn’t finite. He doesn’t have to keep it trained on one thing to the detriment of everything else.

God has His eye on you, and He cares about your problems—every one of them no matter how big or small.

Let’s get some evidence from the Bible to show why you can take this truth to the bank.

We’ll explore 3 Bible stories of women whose problems seemed insignificant compared to what was happening around them. But still, their problems were important to God.

Hannah’s Fertility Problem Was Important to God

It’s easy to lose sight of Hannah’s story in the seriousness of everything happening in 1 Samuel.

God had big issues on His hands.

He was dealing with corrupt priests and wars with neighboring countries. Plus, His people kept falling into apostasy.

In the middle of these national issues, up pops Hannah—an infertile woman in a culture where fertility was highly valued.

This woman grieved over her inability to get pregnant. Plus, she had to endure the strain of constant taunting from her husband’s other wife. On top of this, her husband tried to make her feel guilty about wanting a child, thinking he should be enough for her.

Basically, he told Hannah she should be thankful for what she had and stop desiring more.

In her personal grief and pain, Hannah knew exactly where to turn.

She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly.

1 Samuel 1:10 (ESV)

And wouldn’t you know what happened next?

…and the Lord remembered her.

1 Samuel 1:19b (ESV)

Infertile, distressed Hannah, who should have been grateful for what she had, and who shouldn’t have bothered God with her insignificant problems…

God remembered her.

5 Sisters’ Inheritance Problem Was Important to God

Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. Five sisters—Zelophehad’s daughters.

You’ve probably never heard of them but they’re mentioned 3 different times in the Bible. They don’t get a whole lot of attention because their problem seems insignificant.

Let’s stitch their story together.

Here’s the first mention of these 5 ladies.

Now Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters. And the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

Numbers 26:33 (ESV)

So the first thing we know is that their dad had no sons. This is important because of Israael’s inheritance laws at the time. Sons got it all in the inheritance laws God was putting in place for the newly-born nation of Israel.

But these 5 women thought it was unfair. Maybe they got together in their tent and discussed the problem. Maybe they debated if they should make something of it or leave it alone.

Either way, they agreed: Something ought to be done. And the only way was for them to speak up about it.

So they did. They made their representation to Moses, ending their argument with:

Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.

Numbers 27:4 (ESV)

Then God said, “I have more important things to do than paying attention to your insignificant problems, girls.”

No, He didn’t.

God saw their problem as important and worthy of His attention.

Moses took the case to God, and God said:

“The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them.  And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter.

Numbers 27:7-8 (ESV)

Wait, what?

Did God really change the inheritance law because of these women’s comparably insignificant problem?

Yes, He did.

Then He kept His word to the 5 sisters.

So according to the mouth of the Lord he [Joshua] gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father.

Joshua 17:4b (ESV)

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Hagar’s Dilemma Was Important to God

Ah, Hagar. Her story starts in Genesis 16 when Sarai gets the idea to have Abram sleep with her maid so he can have a son.

And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.

Genesis 16:4 (ESV)

So Sarai gets this stupid idea, Abram follows up on her stupid idea, and Hagar finds herself in an unexpected but enviable position.

Hagar is riding high as Abram’s expectant baby mama. She’s giving him what his postmenopausal wife Sarai can’t.

And wouldn’t you know, Hagar’s new position goes to her head.

She gets uppity and disrespectful towards Sarai, her mistress. Then Sarai gets up in her feelings and starts mistreating Hagar, her husband’s baby mama.

So, of course, Hagar runs away in true drama style. She may have been justified in running or she may have been throwing a tantrum. We don’t know for sure. All we know is she ran.

So Hagar is out, wandering in the wilderness, alone in her predicament, pregnant, and butthurt.

And who should appear in the middle of rebellious Hagar’s situation but an angel of the Lord?

Remember, Hagar isn’t pregnant with Isaac, the child God promised to Abram. But still, Hagar’s problem was significant to God.

First, the angel gave Hagar a reality check and some practical advice.

The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.”

Genesis 16:9 (ESV)

Then the angel delivered a promise just for Hagar from God. It was a promise of blessing and abundance for her descendants.

God cared about what seemed like insolent Hagar’s unimportant problem.

Your Problems Are Important to God—Every Single One of Them

I tormented myself for a ridiculous amount of time, wondering if my problems were important to God.

Sure, other people would probably have said they weren’t. In fact, a few former friends chipped in with some toxic positivity. They shamed me into believing my problems weren’t important. They said I should go help those less fortunate so I’d feel less ungrateful for my situation.

Thank God I eventually deafened myself to those people because I learned the truth. And so have you.

God doesn’t compare your problems to other people’s problems or judge which is worthy of His attention.

It’s all important to God, including your problems.

Hannah poured out her heart to God over her comparatively insignificant problem. And God cared about it enough to bless her with a son who turned the tide of Israel’s spiritual history.

The 5 sisters took their comparatively insignificant problem to God through Moses. And God cared about it enough to change the nation’s inheritance laws to benefit women coming after them.

As far as we know, Hagar—a pregnant woman wandering alone in the wilderness—wasn’t even seeking God. Yet, God still cared about her comparatively insignificant problem enough to comfort and counsel her with life-saving advice.

Somewhere among these women, you’ll find yourself. And somewhere among their stories, you’ll find this common thread:

No matter how small you think your problem is, it’s important to God.

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)

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