Where is God?
That’s a big question, isn’t it? “Where is God?” It’s a question, though, that many people want answered.
Timothy Keller once said, “Believers should acknowledge and wrestle with doubts… It is no longer sufficient to hold beliefs just because you inherited them.” This is where I can say that I struggle with the same question sometimes. This experience of going to college has sometimes made me feel alone. Despite everything that’s going on here, and the busyness with school, there are moments when I sit back, have nothing to do, and sometimes just burst into tears because of loneliness. I cry out and wonder, “Where is my God? Why do I feel alone? Why do I feel forgotten?”
It’s something that many people wrestle with, but it’s also something that many people have overcome. There are a few reasons why some would ask that question. First, there are those who are skeptical of God. They look around at the world and decide that if God was truly present, things wouldn’t be as bad as they are. Second, there are those who have known God their whole lives, but have decided to live life buffet-style, picking and choosing what they like and don’t like about God and the lifestyle He asks us to live (which is life abundantly, by the way; John 10:10) and come up just as empty as any other person searching for meaning. Then there are those that have a full on relationship with God, who spend time in the Word, in prayer, in fellowship, but there’s a period where it feels like God is just sitting back, completely ignorant of the fact that they need Him.
It’s not sinful to feel this way. It’s not wrong. David cried out to God in desperation asking God where He was and why He had abandoned him. Even Jesus felt abandoned by His own Father on the cross, shouting in agony, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”. This question has been asked over the years in so many different ways. And the answer is simple.
He is with you.
It doesn’t feel like it, you might say. But faith is not based on feelings. When it feels like God is kicking back, or too busy for you, it’s when your faith goes into high gear, as you remind yourself, “He’s here. He’s with me. He’s doing something. I don’t know what, but He is.”
It’s in the moments when God feels distant when we need to realize that either we’ve moved, or He’s letting His will be accomplished, He’s allowing His work to run it’s course, He’s stretching you, molding you, making you into the person that He desires you to be. He is searching your heart, He is cleaning you up, He is building character. He is preparing you for something, He is asking you to have patience, He is asking you to persevere, keep going, trust Him.
He’s doing a lot in those moments of silence, isn’t He?
So maybe the question for us isn’t, “Where is God?”. Maybe it should be, “Where am I?”. And through that, along with spending time with God and asking Him to reveal Himself (He always does; Jer 33:3, Jer 29:13), you’ll find out what God is asking you to do, and what His specific will is for your life.
I leave you with some lyrics to comtemplate:
Whatever You’re doing inside of me
It feels like chaos, but somehow there’s peace
It’s hard to surrender to what I can’t see
But I’m giving in to something heavenly
Whatever You’re doing inside of me
It feels like chaos, but now I can see
You’re up to something bigger than me
Larger than life, something heavenly
Whatever You’re Doing – Sanctus Real
