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How Long Until My Eyes Are Opened? (Eyes Wide Open #2)

July 20, 2025

How Long Until My Eyes Are Opened? (Eyes Wide Open #2) | Dr. Larry Baucom, Dr. Troy Doucet | July 20th, 2025

 

Eyes Wide Open 2: How Long Until My Eyes Are Opened?

Many people live with the false assumption that being a Christian guarantees protection from pain. But the truth is: faith does not exempt us from suffering; it prepares us to walk through it with God.

 

Challenging the Assumption

We often accept that:

  • Bad people deserve bad things.

  • Good people deserve good things.

But we struggle deeply when bad things happen to good people, especially innocent children or faithful believers. Tragic events like Columbine, Sandy Hook, and personal losses bring up the painful question: Why would God allow this?

These tragedies are not acts of God, but results of human freedom and evil choices.

The stories of the Bible show us:

  • Adam and Eve chose disobedience.

  • Cain chose violence.

  • Herod chose murder.

Pain and evil are not God’s will, but God is present with us in suffering, holding our hands through the valley.

 

  1. With Eyes Wide Open: Embrace the Truth That God Accepts Me As I Am

We ask questions like:

  • “How long, Lord?”

  • “Why do the wicked prosper?”

  • “Why did this happen?”

These are ancient questions. Even Habakkuk, the prophet, questioned God’s justice and timing.

“How long must I call for help, but you do not listen?” (Hab. 1:2)

What we learn from Habakkuk:

  • It’s okay to question.

  • It’s okay to cry out.

  • God is not indifferent; He is present.

Even when life is confusing and unfair, God accepts our raw, honest selves. He invites us to bring our grief, pain, and frustration into His presence.

 

  1. With Eyes Wide Open: We Need to Celebrate Our Connection with God

Instead of being paralyzed by the question “Why?”, we’re invited to lean into “What’s next?”

We live in a world broken by human choices:

  • Tragedies remind us that freedom of the will necessitates the possibility of evil.

  • The problem is not that God causes suffering, but that some people choose it.

Still, we are not alone. God walks with us in the darkest valleys.

Like Paul, we may suffer deeply, yet still carry faith and mission (2 Cor. 11).

Like Job, we may grieve and question, yet still choose trust over judgment.

Like Habakkuk, we can wait with hope, knowing that “the righteous will live by faithfulness.”

 

  1. Eyes Wide Open: Offer to Others the Acceptance We Have Experienced

We must stop saying, “Bad things don’t happen to Christians.” When we do, we create shame, guilt, and spiritual confusion when suffering inevitably comes.

Instead, we must:

  • Offer grace over judgment.

  • Stop the blame game and the ‘if only’ trap.

  • Help others find footing in unstable times, just as God gives us “feet like deer” to navigate the heights (Hab. 3:19).

“When my world is shaking… with eyes wide open, keep me steady.”

Personal tragedies shared by the pastors remind us: life is fragile. But God doesn’t abandon us; He equips us to walk with others through their pain.

 

Conclusion: What’s Next?

The most faithful response is not having all the answers,
…it’s choosing to trust God with your life.

When life doesn’t give us what we hoped for, it still gives us the chance to know God more deeply.

We’re not promised prosperity, but we are promised God’s presence, stability, and love.

When we show up, steady and present in someone else’s pain, we reflect the love of Christ.

 

Final Reflection:

God doesn’t need you to be perfect; He wants you to be present.
Not stuck in “Why?” but alive in “What’s next?”

He loves you. He accepts you. He walks with you.