Where is God?

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Last month, I met with an accident when driving the car. Nothing happened - to me or the lady who was in the car with me. I guess that I should have been thankful, but I didn't feel that way. 

Here, I had mustered enough courage to drive around at night, when I didn't know the directions. Knowing my track record at getting lost in the middle of nowhere, it seemed like a big accomplishment. After the accident, I was back to feeling like a nervous, clueless person with the same fear, settling in again.

What was more surprising to me, is that when this happened, the first thought that came to my mind is that - I must have done something wrong and that's why this happened. 

It is strange, that "not-so-great things happening in my life" and "God" do not go together. Subconsciously, I had bought into a lie that God's blessings only come to certain people, and if something was going wrong, it was because I had messed up and God being holy and righteous, would punish that. 

I think about suffering - death, losing a job, a family falling apart, inadequacy, sickness and wonder where is God in the middle of all this?

Does He know, or are prayers heard only by the wall? Is he near or somewhere distant, just watching? Is God helpless or not responsible for everything? Has He forgotten me? Does He hate me? 

I'm weary of comforters who tell me to be strong or the defenders who explain away suffering.  

In the Bible, there is a story of a man who died and his sisters were distraught. Jesus came to meet them, but He was late. The sister of his dead friend met him outside. He consoled her. But, then he saw the other sister, manifestly more emotional. And, he burst into tears.

Jesus wept.

Just two simple words, and yet they carry a world of significance. 

A remarkable glimpse into the glory of the Lord of the universe - His Human Emotions

“A man of sorrows,” the prophet said, “and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). He was a man of sorrows, but not his own. “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4). Because his love is great, he made our pains his own.

It’s not inherently impressive to have a king that cries. But, it is great comfort to have a God who not only knows our sorrows and what is in us, but is fully present in it.

We are finite and frail. But God gave us mighty emotions. 

We celebrate. We grieve. We rejoice. We weep. And, we do so with Jesus as one of us. 

And, in these tears, we see that God does not stand aloof to the pains of our existence. He has drawn near. We have not been abandoned to a world into which he was unwilling to enter. We suffer no pain that he was unwilling to bear. We have no grief that he was unwilling to carry.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." - John 16:33

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