Where is God?

A child lays dead on the ground

Inside his cold lifeless palms rests a rock

Fear was the only friend he found

In his last moments people curse and mock

The soldier that killed him stares ahead

His rifle weighing heavy at his side

His orders were to shoot “terrorist” dead

Nauseated his stomach churns for guilt and fear wreaks havoc inside

Where is God?

 

At age two a small girl’s hair is ripped out of her head

The sexual abuse never seems to end

At night she cries shaking in bed

She yells out loud longing for a friend

Her brother endures the same hell as she

Is it too much to ask for her parents to care

She just wants to be free

At a young age she learns life is not fair

Where is God?

 

A father waits for his child to embrace

The bus any minute starts to come around the bend

Through the bus window he sees his little Sara’s smiling face

Laughter is her best friend

But suddenly a horrific noise fills the air

Flames engulf the bus before his eyes

This reality he can’t bear

He runs to the debris wailing as his heart dies

Where Is God?

 

Where is God when you hear your mother’s screams as your father abuses her through the night?

Where is God when your husband kills your brother in an unfair fight?

Where is God when you lie alone crying because your father’s ice cold words echo through your mind?

Where is God when you are tortured in prison and no hope can you find?

 

Where is God in the midst of conflict and war?

Where is God when you get that knock on your door?

Where is God when the innocent our killed?

Where is God when a child dies because his hungry stomach is not filled?

 

Where is God when children are sold into prostitution, labor, and war?

Where is God when a teenage girl overdoses and hits the floor?

Where is God when your husband dies from cancer on Christmas day?

Where is God when the horrors of your past won’t go away?

 

Where Is God?

In this a short reflection poem I wrote on some of my thoughts birthed from coming to the Middle East and just life in general. It is so hard to see God in the midst of heartache, death, conflict, suffering, loneliness and pain. Often times there are no answers for things that happen in life. However, I am realizing that God is there even in the midst of these tragedies even when it does not feel like it or he does not seem to be seen. People who have experienced very traumatic events often can’t see God. I mean look at the Jewish people who went through the holocaust. How could God just let that happen? Also, I look at the Palestinian people who have pretty much lost all hope and our living in occupied territories under military rule. How could God favor one people and allow a whole other people to suffer? Where is God when thousands of Palestinian civilians were killed in the Gaza War where white phosphorus was even used in areas with a civilian population? Where is God when children are shot for throwing stones? How does a gun equal a stone? Where is God when a bus full of people are blown up by extremists? Where is God when your house is demolished by the government and you are forced to live on the streets? Where is God when hundreds of thousands of refugees are living in poor conditions in refugee camps? I mean seeing God in these kind of situations is so hard.

However, I am reminded that this world is fallen and imperfect. There is not always justice and very bad things can happen to good people. The world is imperfect and people are imperfect. Thus, hell can become a reality on earth. However, I find that God can be present in the midst of hell. Every hard time I have ever faced I would have lost hope if it wasn’t for the assurance that I knew God was there for me to comfort and guide me in the midst of it all. I think we tend to get so focused on the hopelessness and the vastness of our circumstances that we forget that God is there in the midst of it all. I think it is important to remember that we can always run to Him no matter what the situation. He is our comfort and strength.

One of my favorite verses is in Romans 8:37-39 that talks about how nothing could ever separate us from God. “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Also, I feel like David experienced a lot of these where is God moments. This can be seen as he pours his heart out in the Psalms. Psalm 42 says, “My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, Where is your God?…My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan, the heights of Hermon-from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the Lord directs his love at night his song is with me- a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God my Rock, ‘Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy? My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’ Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why are you so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him my Saviour and my God.” This is why I love the Psalms because David just pours out His heart. When he feels like God has left Him. He reminds himself of who God is and His faithfulness. The opening of this chapter he says, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God. Where can I go and meet God?” His desperation makes him cry out for an encounter with the real God. He needs answers, help, and strength that only divine intervention can bring. His low point drives him to seek the face of God and remember who God is. Throughout the Psalms this pattern can be seen. In Psalm 46:1-3,11 he says, “God is our refuge and strength an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore I will not fear though the earth give away and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging…The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob our fortress.” Psalm 62:1-2 “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress I will never be shaken.” Psalm 63 “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.” (I would recommend reading through the Psalms just to see this continuous pattern.) I think God shows up in some of the most incredible ways in the midst of hard times. The key seems to be to seek God out in the midst of it and not be overwhelmed by everything around you. The focal point should be on God who is our source of peace and strength even in the midst of all out hell. I want to continue to learn how to rest in God’s strength and peace no matter what circumstances life throws my way.

Another issue I have is when people just throw up their hands and give up on life because they think it is unfair and do not see justice. Instead of fighting for justice, they lie die and give up. Thus, the cycle is never-ending because no one stands up against the status quo. I believe that the Lord wants his people to speak out on behalf of the oppressed and be a voice for justice. So many blame God for all the world’s problems, but so few take action. God will give us the strength and ability to be his voice for justice and shine out like lights in this dark world. We are his instruments on the earth. We are his ambassadors of hope in the darkness. This is important to remember as well