Where is God?

Sometimes things happen in life that make no sense to me. Situations that turn out in ways that defy logic and seem an affront to justice. Times when life feels like a desert wasteland.

What do we do when this happens? How do we react to moments that crush our souls and defeat our spirits?

There are a few things I don’t believe…

I don’t believe that this is all part of God’s plan. The idea that God would intentionally put someone through hell as part of a plan or to teach something is what I would call theological horse manure. That flies in the face of a loving, merciful God.

I don’t believe that everything happens for a reason. Everything happens, but not “for a reason.” Things happen because we live in a broken world inhabited by broken people. And sometimes those people do really hateful and evil things.

There are a few things I do believe…

I believe that God suffers with us. In the midst of our pain, suffering, and anger, the One who dwells in us dwells with us through the most agonizing moments of life.

I believe there will come a day when things will be made completely right, but that final, ultimate realization is not on this side of death. Life sucks sometimes; it really does. We are promised a new heaven and a new earth through resurrection. Resurrection is an already/not yet proposition, and we live in the tension between the two.

I hurt for those who suffer, especially when brought on by the evil of others. God sees the evil perpetrated in the world, but that doesn’t mean that God will intervene directly. I don’t know why it seems God acts in some situations and doesn’t in others. I do know I’m tired of platitudes such as “God will take care of this” and “this is all part of the plan.”

Sometimes life is hell. Plain and simple. Sometimes people hurt other people. And sometimes it’s even intentional and malicious.

So what do we do?

I don’t have all of the answers, or even most of them, but I do know this: I have agency to fight against darkness in the world. I may not be able to remove the pain, but I can be present with others while they hurt. I may not be able to make things better, but I can be light in the midst of darkness.

Where is God in the midst of hell on earth?

In me.

God, in the person of Jesus Christ, stepped into the hurt and darkness and confronted it to the point of his own suffering and even death. If I’m committed to following Jesus’ way of life and his mission, shouldn’t I be willing to do the same?