“Where is your God"
Finding God When No One Else Can
Scripture Lesson - Psalm 42
I say to God, my rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because the enemy oppresses me?”
As with a deadly wound in my body,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
“Where is your God?” Psalm 42:9-10
Today is September 11, 2012. It is a day of remembrance. Almost every American remembers where he or she was eleven years ago when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. Our nation still bears the scars of that day. The pain, suffering, and torment of that horrible day lingers. On that day, many people asked, "Where is God?"
Several months ago, a man opened fire in a theater in Colorado. It was a heinous act that rendered a community, a state, and a nation speechless. Again, people asked, "Where is God?"
It seems that the unbelievers relish in tragedy as they eagerly point fingers and taunt the faithful with the chant. "Where is your God?" All too often, the believer ponders this same question in his or her mind as he or she silently whispers, "Where is my God?" Like the psalmist, we walk mournfully through a path of scoffers as we question a faith that once seemed solid. Where is God during these times?
As believers, we can be assured that God is with us. Perhaps we feel forgotten because of our own humanity. Feeling alone and abandoned during tragedy is common emotion for most people. Tragedy is never easy to accept. Our minds are too busy trying to comprehend the incomprehensible. As we try to wrap our minds around certain events, we fall deeper and deeper into the abyss. The world becomes a wasteland that seems to be too vile for One that is so holy; but, God is still with us.
When people tell us (especially in times of tragedy) that God does not exist, it is only the evil forces of the world trying to separate us from the One that truly loves us. If the Evil One succeeds at driving a wedge between the Creator and His Creation, he is one step closer to domination. God will never let this act occur, and somehow God will be revealed admist the tragedy.
If you talk to survivors from the World Trade Center, many people will tell you that God was present. Yes, God was there. If you talk to survivors of the Colorado shootings, these individuals will also tell you that God was present. But, if God was there, why did He let the tragedy occur?
Tragedy is the result of living in a fallen world. We live in a world that has been marred by sin and corruption. Terrible things will happen as a result of sin; however, we can be assured that God loves us through it all. We should never fail to remember that God loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to walk this earth. It is in Jesus Christ that we find hope to carry on during tragedy and tribulation as we wait for the day when all tears will be wiped away and death will occur no more.
Glory be to God.
