I seem to ask this question almost instinctively when I’m struggling in life . When I don’t like what’s happening around me, when life is burning and I’m hurting and angry I cry out , “God where are you?” but, what I really mean is “God why aren’t you fixing this?” I recognize the pain is not going away, therefore I assume God has left the room. As if every discomfort I ever experience is directly linked to God being near or not. If He’s not fixing things I can’t feel him or sense him. He must not be near me surely if he was, “within” as the Bible says, than I would not be in this distress. this all assumes that God’s nearness never brings with it sorrow.
1. If God or the kingdom of God is within you. You and I will absolutely be in distress at various times of life. The bible says that if Jesus suffered so will you share in those sufferings. if Jesus was persecuted surely his disciples will be persecuted, virtually every author in the New and Old Testament either spoke about or experienced deep life altering suffering.
somewhere in my mind, I reason with God as if my relationship with him is transactional, “but Lord, I’ve done what I’m supposed to do, I’ve done my part, now you do yours.” my faith is always just a hairs width away from bartering for blessing. I hate this about myself, and yet I’m so very human that I find myself continually going back here again and again, and after all…shouldn’t we expect good from God.
I think we have learned in our sensory saturated planet to rely much too heavily on feelings and experiences. God is present with us in ways that are entirely different than anyone or anything else in our life. God is present with you through his word and by his spirit. If you want to know where God is, turn to his word. If you want to hear his voice and counsel read scripture. This seems too simple to be true or too invisible, to be effective, but as one author says, “what you cannot see will sustain you through the fearful things you can see.” God has given us his spirit and his word as his presence in this world with us when we cannot hold his hand or call him on the phone.
God has never promised anyone of us that he would show up at our front door, he didn’t promise that when good things happen we can be assured he is near to us, he has never said that he will send a text or an email. These are just not ways God shows up in our world nor things we ought to expect, so why are we looking for them when we are distraught and in deep sorrow? and why do we assume that God is only connected to “good feelings” and “happy experiences” and that he isn’t in the midst of sorrow and heartache? The Bible says, he actually is in the midst of the darkest nights, he is near to the heartbroken, close to those who are grieving. We can’t feel him because we are heartbroken and when we are aching we can usually only feel the burn. God hasn’t promised only good feelings or tangible presence , But what he has promised is that HE IS THE WORD we have access to the Word.
it reminds me of when the disciples were in the boat and the storm arose and they were screaming scared, “Jesus wake up where are you, don’t you care that we are drowning and going to die?” Jesus didn’t go anywhere they just wanted him to do something. We want God to do something, especially when we are frustrated or shattered.
When we feel utterly alone in the world and grieving or in darkness and crying out where are you God remember that you are really looking for resolution to your problem. If you really want to know where God is and what he has to say about it all to you – open your bible and begin to read it. That is what God is the most tangible, and He has promised and chosen to speak to us through it. there will not be any magical mystical creatures that crawl out of the cover there will not be fireworks or a million bucks that fall from the sky, but you will find hidden in the pages; truth, love, comfort, redemption, forgiveness, instruction, life eternal and everything that somehow gets you through. God hasn’t left you, he hasn’t abandoned you in fact he wants to speak to you. Let Him. Open your heart and your bible and find God there.
my faith place 