02122022 Where Is God?

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the Ever-present God. God is never absent, although not everyone believes that. Of course, some deny that God exists at all, but even among those who claim to believe in Him, there are often doubts about whether He is present in a particular situation.

This question is often posed following a tragedy. Plane-bombs crash into skyscrapers, killing thousands, and people ask, “Where was God?” A pandemic sweeps the globe, causing years of death and disruption, and people ask, “Where is God?” A child battles a life-threatening or debilitating condition, and people ask, “Where is God?” A brutal serial killer adds dozens of victims while escaping capture for decades, and people ask, “Where was God?”

These questions are not unique to the modern culture. They were posed to the musician author of Psalm 42, isolated from corporate worship, and in great anguish of soul. Those around “continually say unto me, Where is thy God?” (v. 2, also v. 10). The questions are painful to the psalmist, because even against his desire and belief, his own soul echoes the question (v. 9).

After the desolation of Jerusalem and slaughter of God’s people, recorded in Psalm 79, the heathen seemed to have the upper hand. God’s people were “brought very low” (v. 8), and the potential was high for the heathen to say, “Where is their God?” (v. 10). Asaph prays for divine rescue in order to confront that question of accusation.

A similar situation exists in Joel 2:17, that the heathen would be brought to ask “Where is their God?” after seeing the judgment on God’s people. Micah looks in hope to the day of his deliverance, when the enemies who asked, “Where is the LORD thy God?” would be brought to silence. At times even God’s rebellious people defend their wrong behaviors by arrogantly asking the question, “Where is the God of judgment?” (Malachi 2:17).

These Biblical examples join with our human experience to illustrate that there are times when God does seem to be absent. The heathen ask the question in derision, arrogance, and accusation. The masses ask the question in puzzlement, perhaps in bitterness or hopelessness. Even God’s people sometimes ask the question, usually in anguish, longing, and desperation. What is the answer? Where is God when life is in upheaval and disaster? It is a sad state when God’s people seem so abandoned that the wicked are emboldened to escalate their derision of God.

The author of Psalm 115 also faced a situation similar to some of those recorded above. Apparently, he was in a situation of need, and the answer to his need was not yet evident. He did not know how things would end. In that setting, he prayed for God’s mercy to be shown in a way that would display His glory. “Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?” (v. 2).

Psalm 115 goes on to give a direct answer to the question “Where is God?” The psalmist boldly declares in v. 3, “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.”

Where is God? God is where He always has been. What is God doing? God is doing what He always has done, which is anything He pleases. God is on His throne in heaven, and He is doing whatever He decides to do. No person, no power, no situation can stop God from doing what He wants to do.

Where is God? God is on high on His throne. “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Daniel 4:35).

Where is God? Amazingly, this exalted God in heaven is also very near to His people. “The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill” (Psalm 113:4-7).

Where is God in the midst of trouble? He is both ruling in heaven as the Almighty King, and He is looking with compassion on His children who are needy and hurting. God is where He has always been, doing what He has always done. Human feelings may not sense that, and human understanding may not comprehend it, but the truth remains. “Our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.” Some day, everyone will bow in recognition of that very fact. The question “Where is God?” will be powerfully and universally answered.

Never fear! God has not gone silent or inactive. God is not on vacation or strike. God has not disappeared or detached Himself from this world. Our comprehension may suffer, because His ways are higher than our ways, and because we do not understand His delayed (but sure) response, but God is alive and well, doing all that He has purposed to do. Oh, Father, help us to trust, to rest, to wait, to hope in You!

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA