Where is God When We Need Him Most?

As the story goes: Students entering the lunch room at a theological seminary were greeted by a sign which read, “Take only one apple — God is watching you!” At the other end of the table was a large tray of chocolate chip cookies, next to which was a hastily scribbled sign which read, “Take as many as you want — God is back there watching the apples.”

The humor of this story brings home a point that even though we often say we believe God is everywhere (omnipresence), we also sometimes wistfully hope that he is not where we are! We wish God is not with us when we don’t want him to be with us — for example, in the case of this story, when we want to be mischievous. Or conversely, in a more serious note, we think God is not with us when we are going through difficult and trying times.

Very often we hear the question being asked, “Where was God when this (or that) happened?” It seems every time when there’s any kind of untimely death or catastrophe, whether caused by human hands or nature, this question finds new expression among the survivors. In the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy, one of the oft-asked questions was, “Where was God when it happened?” Many people questioned God’s seeming absence and silence through it all. And the same was true as we went through the COVID-19 global pandemic. In fact, this same question is often asked of what happened to Jesus in his darkest moments on the cross, when he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34, NRSV).

I remember well when my mother breathed her last in my arms some 33 years ago — that was the loneliest moment in my life, because God seemed so far away! I had to struggle a long while just to begin to understand why God would let my mother, a woman of faith and faithfulness who ministered alongside my father for forty years, would die of such a dreadful disease? I questioned in my heart where God was when literally thousands of people around the globe were praying for her recovery from cancer?

Does God really come and go as he pleases? Is God with us only when things go well and disappears when things begin to go south? Where is God when we need him most? Well, I would like to remind us all that God is always with us even though we might not know or sense it at the time. Two biblical examples come to mind: After Jacob woke up from his great dream at Bethel, about the ladder reaching up to heaven with the angels of God going up and down, he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place — and I did not know it!” (Genesis 28:16).

And then, after Joseph had revealed himself to his brothers in Egypt and tried to allay their fears for revenge, he said, “And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life . . . So it was not you who sent me here, but God” (Genesis 45:5-8). Wow, what powerful insight and great relief! God had been in it all along (but of course by no means excused the brothers for what they did to Joseph)!

Very often our own awareness of God’s presence is found only in hindsight — much like the beloved poem, “Footprints in the Sand,” that only after we had been through those difficult times — when we looked back — that we realized God had been there all along. Our challenge then is to know in our heart and mind that God is always with us, rejoicing with us, even suffering with us — and he knows what we go through in life!

So, as we encourage our friends and family during these uncertain and trying times, or for whatever reason, let us remind them that God is with them, especially in times like this!

Yours in Christ,