Have you ever thought that?
Perhaps for you, it’s the present tense. Where is God, now?
We are encouraged to believe that God is always present and yet there are times when he seems to be utterly absent; and so often our perception is that we are alone when we need help the most.
This thought struck me powerfully recently when pondering the story of the temptation of Jesus. Such a strange story which in itself raises so many questions, on many different levels.
However, on this occasion, the question that struck me was this:
Why did the angels only show up when the devil had left Jesus? Wouldn’t they have been more use supporting and encouraging him as he dealt with the various temptations? But it would appear that, as the story stands, Jesus faced this difficult time alone. With no one to stand by him, cheer him on, prompt him in his thought processes or discuss his answers. Some way of being reassured that the difficult choice was the best one. Where was God – or even the angels – when he needed them? Why did their help only come after his ordeal?
This is not the only time in the New Testament where we might ask this question:
Mary and Martha watched their brother die. They had sent for Jesus – whether to ask him for physical help or healing, or to spend some last moments with his friend, we do not know – but Lazarus was gone. They had watched him leave this earth. Where was Jesus when they asked him to come? With hindsight we can come up with all kinds of explanations – indeed Jesus did just that himself (John 11: 14 & 15) – but for the sisters, in their deepest moments of grief. Where was he?
And there is an element of this as we read the Emmaus road story too (Luke 24: 13 – 35). The friends are journeying, lost in their grief and confusion. An ache in their hearts for the loss of their friend and the death of their dreams. To them, God was absent. They were crushed and there was no changing the facts. Sure, a stranger joined them. But where was God as they set out on their journey?
The examples are endless. In the Old Testament we find Sara or Hannah desperate for a child; Joseph or Daniel in prison. It’s easy for us to smile as we know how their stories ended, but for the individuals living day to day, in the midst of their anguish and confusion, where was God? Where was God, in their perception, when they needed help the most?
I have no answer. God sometimes – often? – appears to be absent. The struggle for the people involved was real. Painfully real, which is what so often strikes a chord.
I find it helpful to dwell on these stories, to allow myself to enter into the anguish of those who must have wondered where God was; or who have struggled on in his absence. It helps to know that I’m not alone. I’m not the first and I won’t be the last.