So where was God?!

It's unusual, I am glad to be able to say, but this afternoon I attended my second funeral service of the week!  This time, it was for a former colleague who had finally succumbed to cancer at only 41 years of age.

The minister who conducted the service spoke from John 11 - the record of the raising of Lazarus.  He emphasised the words of Lazarus' sister Martha: "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." (v.21).

It's a not unfamiliar response to any number of situations that leave us numbed, and in despair.  It's the sort of question that comes, even to the 'non-religious' (if such people truly exist!).  Where was God when that terrible thing happened?  Where was God when that deranged person went through a college, shooting everyone in sight?  Where was God when that infant whose birth had been so lovingly anticipated for so many months, breathed its last only days, or even hours, after it was born?  Where was God when that young student nurse was being violently raped by a doctor in the very hospital in which they both worked - and simply because he thought that, as she was a Christian, he would get away with it?  Where was God when villagers were being driven from there homes - simply for cofessing Christ as Lord?  Just like Fiona's death at such a young age, it's all so unfair!

So, where is God in such situations?  Has He, as the minister this afternoon asked, gone for a coffee-break?  Perhaps He's on annual leave?  Perhaps He just doesn't really care?

The only answer I can ever give to these questions is that He is there, right in the midst, sharing the suffering and pain; longing that those who are experiencing distress, and grief, and confusion, would turn to Him for strength, and peace, and perseverance.  If I have learned nothing else over the years, I have learned this - that being a disciple of Jesus doesn't guard me from the storms and difficulties of life, but it does assure me of His strong presence in them.  As I mentioned in the previous post, David, the psalmist-king of Israel, inspired by God the Holy Spirit, wrote these familiar words: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me." (Ps 23:4; RSV).  The writer of the Letter to Hebrew disciples of Jesus assures us that "... He has said, 'I will never fail you nor forsake you.'  Hence we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid; what can man do to me?'" (Heb 13:5-6; RSV).


Where is God when the going gets tough?  He's there, with all of the resources that any of us can need.  But, as someone once remarked - "If God seems to be far away, guess who has moved!"  Don't wait until the difficulties arise.  Start walking with Him now - and be assured of His Presence always.