Where Are You God?

I’m not sure any of us have a right to question God in a storm when we haven’t looked for him in the sunlight. Anytime there is a crisis, folks tend to either blame God or accuse him of not caring because he hasn’t taken the crisis away. Not only is that an indication of faithlessness, but it’s an incredibly arrogant way to think. God is watching his fallen world, full of troubles and trials, and he observes me making one poor choice after another, living oblivious to his presence, and when things start to rattle my comfort zones, he’s supposed to jump right in and make everything okay again – just for me! We expect to be delivered when we’ve never been devoted! We demand rescue when we never sought to be redeemed! We cry for Daddy when we never accepted his offer of adoption! If you never thank him for what you’ve had, it’s a lot easier to blame him for what you think you have lost. The irony of dealing with difficult times is that our greatest spiritual growth takes place in those times. That is why we can “count it all blessings” when we are forced to deal with trials and crisis in our life. It takes spiritual maturity to see spiritual opportunity in destressing life events. Yet, we find ourselves praying to be delivered from the very thing that could and should bring us closer to God. “Bring us relief and rescue,” we cry to God, and his answer – the one we don’t want to hear – is “Toughen up and trust me! This will be good for you!” He’s probably too nice to add, “You could be in chains and in prison like Paul and learn the hard way to be content wherever you happen to be!” Go ahead and ask the question if you want. Where is God? He’s where he always is! Right there with you, caring, guiding, and helping in ways we will never know about in this life. He’s not only with those who are confined to a nice home with a full pantry and fridge, but those in huts with no idea where their next meal is coming from. How is he using this to help you draw closer to him? The opportunity is right there in front of you. You just have to WANT to see it!