Most of us have experienced pain in our lives at one time or another. For some, that pain has been beyond what many of us could even imagine. We live in a fallen and sinful world which has a tendency to cause us pain. What makes it worse and even harder to accept is when the pain we experience is caused by someone we love and trust. Instead of being there to protect us, they turn into someone who hurts us. It is in those moments that we not only blame others for our pain, but we also tend to ask God that loaded question – WHERE WERE YOU???
Like you, I have had several times in my life that this question came to my mind. When my parents divorced. When I had a bad car accident. When my sister died. These were times I remember asking God where He was. One day recently, He revealed to me just where He was during those times of crisis when I thought He had deserted me. He gave me visions into the moments, and for the first time ever, I saw just where He was. He had not abandoned me as I had thought, but instead, He was there with me in the midst of the pain.
The day my mother left and I ran into her room and sat in the middle of her bed and cried, there He was rocking me. He was holding me, wiping my tears and taking my pain as His own. In my car accident, I could see Him sitting on my lap and taking the brunt of the collision so that my injuries would not be life threatening. And the most comforting of all was when I could see where He was the day my sister died. During the accident, He stood between her car and the tractor trailer. He cried as He held her and led her home, but then He took the time to find me too as I was told the horrifying news. There He was at the door with arms outstretched waiting for me to run to Him and that afternoon, I did just that.
When we question where God is, often it is our questioning of why He allowed these bad things to happen. We are blaming God, but God is not to blame. Man has a free will. In that will, he can choose God’s ways or man’s ways. Parents can choose to stay together or divorce. An old man who shouldn’t be driving can choose to be stubborn and drive anyway. A truck driver can choose to take drugs so he can get more miles on the road. The victim can choose to stay a victim by holding onto unforgiveness and bitterness or they can choose to forgive the offender and trust God.
When God created man, He made us in His image. He did not create drug dealers, rapists, abusers or adulterers. Sin did. He fearfully and wonderfully made us – perfectly. But He did not create robots. There is great responsibility in this free will we have. Some use it for good; others don’t, but in it all, God is always there. He is always with us.
He has told us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. That means all of us, everywhere. God is no respecter of persons. He loves all whom He creates.
If you are dealing with a pain which does not seem to go away, release it to God. Ask Him to show you where He was. He says that if you seek Him you will find Him if you seek Him with all of your heart. So seek Him today. Your destiny is waiting.