Where Was God When…?
Have you ever asked this question? Have you ever dared to ask? If you’re like me, I didn’t ask for a long time. I didn’t grow up in church, and I later developed a somewhat unhealthy view of God. I didn’t realize my unhealthiness until later, and it took me a while to absorb that I could ask God the hard questions. To better explain, I want to share a story with you.
My family lost my Mom to a hit-and-run car accident when I was 11. It devastated us. I’ve lost count of how many millions of times I’ve wanted to ask why. Where was God then? Why didn’t He stop it? The truth is it wasn’t God’s fault. I picture God screaming in the ear of the person driving the car; begging him not to drive. We could debate about free will and God’s providence, but I don’t believe death is something we were meant to understand. We weren’t designed to. For years, I stuffed down the hurt and pain, only building anger and prolonging healing.
Years later, I found a YouTube video from my favorite band (MercyMe). Bart, the lead singer, was sharing about life’s struggles. He put it like this (paraphrasing):
When you squeeze a tube of toothpaste, what comes out? Toothpaste. When you squeeze an orange, what comes out? Orange juice. When you squeeze a Christian, what comes out? The answer, of course, is Jesus…but if you’ve ever been in a season of hurt; in what appears to be an unbearable season of pain…you know that we want to ask “why” a million times. We get angry and start to doubt everything we thought was good and what we believed in.
Bart went on to share that after his father passed away, a friend told Bart something that he never forgot. The friend said that all of those things Bart is feeling at that moment…that God’s shoulders are big enough. He can handle it.
“It’s okay to ask why. It’s okay to question. It’s okay to wonder and doubt, but what we have to remember is that He still sits on His throne. Our circumstances will not make Him any less God,” Bart said.
It’s okay to ask God where He was when ______ happened (you fill in the blank). Would it surprise you to hear that He was there all along? He didn’t leave, as you perhaps thought. Today, I want to share with you the same thing Bart shared; God’s shoulders are big enough. He can handle it.
Deuteronomy 31:8- “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”