Though written in December of 2012, this devotional
by Barri
Cae Mallin is as timely today as it was then. ~ editor
~
GOD, WHERE ARE YOU?
By Barri Cae Mallin
“Where was God in all of this?” “God, where are
You?” “Why did You allow this to happen?”
It
seems as though we cannot even go one month without a major tragedy
striking our country or our world. This week, it was the shootings
of innocent children in Connecticut; last month, it was hurricane
Sandy. A few years ago, it was terrorist activity in a luxury hotel
Mumbai, India. Last month, it was terrorist activity in Israel. If
we were honest, we would admit that we are overwhelmed and
distraught with the amount of destruction, terror and evil that
seems to permeate our society. Even for the staunchest optimist,
questions arise about evil and suffering.
If one is afraid of earthquakes, one can relocate from California,
only to find that the weather elements in the new environment can
provide more destruction than an earthquake. One wonders if one can
even attend a movie without wearing a flak jacket. I must admit that
I took it for granted for all of the public venues that I have gone
to in the past year, I didn't even think about facing a terrorist
situation. This even included the time spent in Israel this past
year and in past years.
People often ask after these horrendous situations occur, “Where was
God in all of this?” “God, where are You?” “Why did You allow this
to happen?” For many of us, we will have to get the answers to these
provocative questions in Heaven. However the Bible does give us some
answers. God has given man the choice to either follow and obey, or
disobey and pay the consequences. We as humans, with our finite
minds, will never be able to understand our infinite God. How can we
stand in the place of judgment? Often times, what we think is
hopeless, is just another opportunity for God to show His miracle
working power and bring forth wonderful results.
Proverbs 28:28 states, When the wicked
rise, men hide themselves; But when they perish, the righteous
increase. When I hear about the destruction that man
brings upon another man or child, I want to hide. At times, I want
to take the ostrich position and just put my head in the sand and
forget about all of the pain in the world. However, I know that this
is not the heart of God.
One of the most encouraging passages in the Bible is about Elijah in
1 Kings Chapter 19. Elijah was despondent and depressed. He had just
faced the mighty victory when God showed up for him during the
confrontation with the prophets of Baal. Read about this mighty
victory and miracle that God gave to Elijah in I Kings chapter 18.
We know that the mountaintop feeling of victory does not last. How
quickly the depression come upon Elijah. He finds himself depressed,
fearful, alone and running away. Do you ever feel like Elijah? I do,
probably more often than I would like to admit. He stated to God
It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life,
for I am not better than my fathers (I Kings 19:4). He
slept and an angel appeared to him and encouraged him to eat, which
he did. He slept again and the angel came to him a second time and
told him to eat. He then traveled forty days and forty nights in the
power of that food and rest.
Elijah came to a cave and the word of the LORD came to him saying,
What are you doing here, Elijah?”(1
Kings 19:9) Elijah replied, I have been
very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel
have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your
prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life,
to take it away (verse 10).
Elijah’s cry is our cry. LORD, we have been zealous for You, O God
of hosts! Man has forsaken Your covenant, man has trampled Your
name. Only we are left and the enemy seeks our lives to destroy us!
The LORD then had Elijah go stand on the mountain and a great and
strong wind came. I cannot even imagine how Elijah was able to stand
during those times of strong wind. It must have been like a tornado
wind. The wind actually broke the rocks. Yet we are told that the
LORD was not in the wind. Then, an earthquake occurred. We are told
that the LORD was not in the earthquake either. Fire came and it
must have been worse than any of the California or forest fires that
we have seen as of late. Yet the LORD was not in the fire either.
Finally, all that was heard was the sound of a gentle blowing (verse
12).
We must be encouraged to note that the LORD is not in the tornadoes
or the hurricanes or the fires or the terrorist activities. We live
in a fallen world and God has given us the choice to either follow
Him or do our own thing. However, even today, the gentle blowing,
the still small voice is there, louder than ever. The still small
voice is the peace that the first responders give. The still small
voice is the prayers of the saints, interceding for those who have
faced dire tragedy and suffering. The still small voice is the care
that the doctors and the nurses and the triage specialists give to
the suffering. The still small voice is God’s booming voice, calling
out to His children to pray, to care, to intercede, to love.
Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, Yeshua
HaMashiach, the Father of mercies and God of all
comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that
we will be able to comfort those who are in any
affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are
comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Messiah
Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is
abundant through Messiah Yeshua Jesus.
~ 2
Corinthians 1:3-5 ~
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Barri Cae Mallin holds a PhD
in Biblical Studies from
Trinity Theological Seminary. Other
devotionals by
Barri Cae may be found at www.barricae.com.
To receive them by email, inquire
at Barricae @ comcast . net.
Just remove the
spaces.
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