Where Are You, God?

Sometimes life hits you in the face. Then it hits you again, and again, and again. It hurts every time, whether it’s loss of property, health, or a loved one. Maybe you’re struggling with a mystery illness or your emotional state is a mess. As you struggle, most people are quick to “explain” why these things are happening to you or offer empty words of comfort—perhaps quoting Scripture that would be comforting at any other time but the present. But few take the time to stop and grieve with you, to shoulder the burden of your pain.

The worst part is that when your life starts to fall around your ears, it sometimes feels as if God disappears from the scene. You cry out in prayer until your voice is hoarse, and you scour Scripture in a desperate search for answers. You beat on the pearly gates until your hands bleed, but the only answer you get is silence, and your heart cries out, asking, “God, where are you?”

I know this because I have been there, beating on those gates. I have asked God that question many times, so believe me when I tell you there is no easy answer. People have been coming up with answers for thousands of years, and most of them fall painfully short.

Some believe that God consistently rewards good people with happy lives, so it’s your fault if your life goes downhill. The Pharisees of Christ’s time believed this, as did Job’s infamous friends centuries before them. But the Bible assures us that this is often not the case. The psalmist Asaph wrote, “For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. . . . They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men” (Ps. 73:3, 5). Yes, God will not hesitate to punish sin, but an easy life without trials is not necessarily a sign of His blessing.

Others try to dismiss the question altogether by eliminating God from the equation. After all, if there is no God, then there can be neither good nor evil. But strangely, most of these people do not behave as if they believed that. They innately recognize the existence of good and evil, but they have no good explanation for why those things exist. They did not learn of them by practicing survival of the fittest, where the strong survive at the expense of the weak. In trying to solve the problem of evil, the atheist has a new problem—how do we know good and evil exist if there is no God? Of course, the existence of good and evil is not the only evidence for God, but it is good evidence nonetheless.

Still others entertain darker ideas—that there is a God, but that He is not so good as He claims to be. That He is a malicious being who created us as victims to play around with. Even the legendary C.S. Lewis—the great spiritual giant who gave us The Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity—considered this while grieving the death of his wife, Joy. “Not that I am (I think) in much danger of ceasing to believe in God,” he wrote in his diary, A Grief Observed. “The real danger is of coming to believe such dreadful things about Him. The conclusion I dread is not ‘So there’s no God after all,’ but, ‘So this is what God’s really like. Deceive yourself no longer.’” However, if we are truly honest with ourselves, we will see this suggestion for the lie it is. “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever” (1 Chron. 16:34). God is goodness personified, and evil is merely a weak counterfeit of that goodness. Perish the thought that God is evil or malicious! And yet, it is an appealing idea—even to Christians—who want someone to blame for tragedies in their lives.

But what is the truth, then? If God exists, and He is good, then why do bad things happen to the people who trust Him? Why does it seem like not everything “works together for good,” and why does He seem so far away when we’re crying for Him? Where is He?

There is no easy answer, but perhaps there is a short one. You may not like it—I don’t always like it either.

He’s right here.

“But that’s not true,” you protest. “I’ve felt the distance from God—I cried for help, and He never answered me!”

Trust me, I understand. I've said the same thing when others tried to explain it to me. But I can’t argue with Scripture, and Scripture is clear—this separation that we feel from God is little more than an illusion.

Let me explain.

The Bible stresses many times that not only is God good, but He is also loving. And the proof of that love is the fact that He gave Jesus Christ to die and be resurrected, paying for our sins and offering eternal life. You can probably recite John 3:16 from memory: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just insert your name in the place of “the world” and “whoever,” and you’ll start to get the idea. This same God, who loves each one of us individually, has also said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). Whether we feel His presence or not, His promises are clear—we are loved, and we are never alone. So why don’t we feel His presence more often? Especially in our worst moments?

God designed men and women in His own image. He made us so we could have a relationship with Him, to know Him as their creator and to enjoy His company in a perfect world for all eternity. Sadly, we rebelled and rejected His good plan. We were broken, no longer reflecting the image of God—at least not perfectly. As Christians, we are being remade in the image of God, having trusted in Jesus for salvation. But we’re not perfect yet—we have a long way to go yet. And we don’t live in a perfect world, either—that is still to come.

Like I said, there are no easy answers for why bad things happen in this life. God tells we should expect them to happen because we live in a broken world, in a war between good and evil. But thankfully, this is not the end of the story! Jesus says, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). No matter how terrible the trial, no matter how dark the night, all things shall work together for good in the end for those who love God. One day, we who have trusted Christ shall be made perfect, and we shall live in a perfect world with Him. The trials of this life—which seem like mountains now—will be reduced to nothing in the glorious light of eternity.

I’m writing this partly as a reminder to myself because these are truths I struggle to hold on to. Sometimes it’s so easy to forget that He is in control, to doubt that He has a good plan for me and my loved ones, if only I trust Him. Surrendering my frustration to Him is difficult. But it's the only way to truly start living and growing closer to Him.

Trials are lonely and painful experiences, but God is always with us. And even when we’re in the heat of the battle, we can take comfort in knowing that He has already won the war. He will never leave us, nor forsake us.