Q169 Rom. 10:18 God Is Kind And Loving To The Bad As Well As The GoodQ169 Rom. 10:18 God Is Kind And Loving To The Bad As Well As The Good
How it Happens with Colin Cook
Colin Cook reflects on Romans 10:18 to link faith, inner hurt and God’s kindness with the struggle against addiction and disbelief. The episode suggests that resistance to God may stem from wounded hearts, while everyday mercies point towards the possibility of healing and hope.
14:35•30 Oct 2026
Faith, Wounded Hearts and Finding Hope Beyond Addiction
Episode Overview
- True freedom from addiction is linked to faith in Christ, not belief in personal strength.
- Faith comes through hearing the word of God, which speaks specifically about Jesus and his righteousness.
- Every person carries an inner awareness of God that resonates when they hear truth, even if they resist it.
- Atheism and disbelief are presented as often rooted in hurt and life’s knocks, rather than pure logic.
- God shows daily kindness to both believers and non-believers, using mercy to draw people towards deeper healing.
“"When an atheist says, 'I don't believe in God,' it's far more appropriate to ask him, 'Tell me, where were you hurt?'"”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol, drugs, or destructive habits? In this faith-based episode of "How it Happens", Colin Cook looks at addiction through the lens of Romans 10:18 and asks what it really means to trust God rather than yourself. The focus here is clear: genuine change, including freedom from addiction, comes from faith in Christ, not from trying harder or believing in your own strength.
Colin stresses that "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God", highlighting a very specific kind of trust rooted in the message about Jesus, rather than vague spirituality or self-belief. If you’ve ever felt that self-help slogans like "just believe in yourself" ring hollow, you’ll probably relate. Colin talks about how every human heart, however broken, already has an inner awareness of God.
Using the image of two broken pieces of a vase, he explains how the word of God fits what people deep down already sense about right, wrong, and their need for mercy. This includes atheists and those who’ve turned away from faith, often after painful experiences. Instead of arguing with an atheist, he suggests a different question: "Tell me, where were you hurt?" – a line that cuts right to the emotional roots beneath intellectual objections.
You’ll also hear how God shows kindness to "the bad as well as the good" through everyday mercies like sunshine and rain, even when people don’t know or acknowledge him. That kindness, Colin says, isn’t a rubber stamp on destructive living, but a gentle pressure towards recognising the need for deeper healing and redemption.
If you’re wrestling with addiction, doubts about God, or anger towards religion, this episode offers a thoughtful invitation: what if your resistance is linked to old wounds, and what if God’s kindness has been reaching you all along?
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