Distorted | Week 5 | Full Service

The big idea

Our problems are not God's punishment for something we did — life's valleys are complex, and God uses every kind of valley to make us more like Jesus.

When hard things happen, it's easy to assume God is punishing us for something we did wrong. But Jesus Himself debunks that idea, and Scripture shows valleys come for different reasons — disobedience, obedience, or no clear reason at all — and in every one, God is present, working to shape us into the likeness of Jesus rather than simply making us suffer.

Point 1 of 6

Pastor Caleb walks through John 9:1-3, where the disciples ask Jesus whether a man was born blind because of his own sin or his parents' sin. Jesus answers neither, and says the man's condition happened so God's power could be displayed — dismissing the assumption outright.

Point 2 of 6

He explains that Scripture doesn't oversimplify life into easy cause-and-effect formulas. Whether someone is currently on a mountaintop or in a valley, everyone will face valleys at some point, so the teaching applies to all.

Point 3 of 6

Using Jonah, King David, and Moses as examples, Pastor Caleb shows how direct disobedience led each of them into real trouble — Jonah swallowed by a fish, David's affair with Bathsheba and its fallout, Moses barred from the Promised Land. The response here is to repent and turn back to God.

Point 4 of 6

Sometimes doing the right thing — staying pure before marriage, committing to give, following God's call — is still followed by hardship. Pastor Caleb points to the apostles' persecution and Jesus' own path to the cross as obedience that led straight into a valley, and says the response is to stay the course rather than look for an easy out.

Point 5 of 6

Job loses everything with no identifiable sin or specific act behind it, and his friends and wife wrongly insist he must be hiding guilt or should curse God. After 42 chapters, Job's response is simply to trust that God is God and he is not, which Pastor Caleb says is the posture we're left with when there's no explanation.

Point 6 of 6

Pastor Caleb quotes Timothy Keller on how Christianity alone gives purpose to sorrow, then reads Romans 5:3-5 on how trials produce endurance, character, and hope. He shares his own story of a pornography addiction exposed early in his marriage, showing how that valley led to counseling, honesty, and a stronger marriage rather than the end he feared.

Take it into your week

Pastor Caleb's charge is to figure out which valley you're in and respond the way that valley calls for — repent, stay, or trust.