Where Was God?

Frank Richey

The news is filled with tragedy and devastation, both natural and man-made. When someone’s life is lost in an accident or illness, often a loving family member will ask, where was God? The implication of this question is that a loving God would not allow this to happen. The question is as old as the first tear, and as recent as the latest newscast. Why does God allow suffering, heartache, disease, and death among His own children?

I recently read W.C. Morro’s book, “Brother McGarvey,” a biography of J. W. McGarvey, a gospel preacher and teacher of the 19th century, who had perhaps the greatest influence on the brethren in his day. On one occasion, brother McGarvey went to the home of a woman whose son had just died. In her grief, she said, “brother McGarvey, where was God when my son died? Without hesitation he answered, “the same place He was when His Son died.” What a beautiful answer. Heartache and death of a loved one should not be blamed on God. It should remind us that the “Creator of the Universe” experienced the same thing, and that He knows how we feel.

Many times I have conducted funeral services. Sometimes I use passages that show that deity can be touched by our suffering. For example, when Jesus approached the city of Nain, he came upon a funeral procession; the only son of a widow had died and was being carried out for burial. On this occasion, Jesus was so touched by this graphic example of human suffering that he approached the funeral procession. The Bible says, “When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.”(Luke 7:13-15) Another passage is in Luke 4:18, where Jesus quotes from Isaiah 49:8-9. The passage is a prophecy of Jesus. The Bible says in this passage, “ The Spirit of the LORD [is] upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to [the] poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to [the] captives And recovery of sight to [the] blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed.”

People handle adversity in different ways. While one may clench his fist and shake his hand at God asking, “Why God?” while another man may raise his open hand to God and simply ask, “Why?” Though these actions are very similar, they are poles apart in attitude. The first man questions and blames God for what has transpired, while the second man simply seeks to know why. When Job experienced the total devastation of wealth and family on the same day, no doubt, the impact of this on Job was no different than the pain and heartache that we would have in a similar situation. But notice how Job reacted: “Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:20-21) However, Mrs. Job had a different reaction. She told her husband, “curse God and die.” (Job 2:9). But Job responds to her by saying, “…You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” (Job 2:10)

A passage that I have taped to my computer monitor (so I can see it every day) is Psalm 119:71, which says, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.” John Gill, in his commentary, says of this passage, “Afflictions are sometimes as a school to the people of God, in which they learn much both of their duty and of their privileges; and when they are teaching and instructive, they are for good.” In times of adversity, death, and heartache, we need to look for the value in the situation rather than seek to blame God.

You Are Not Alone

When we begin to think that our sufferings are so great that we cannot bear them, we need only to turn to God’s Word for encouragement and examples of those, like us, who had seemingly insurmountable problems. Consider these examples:

Joseph– Joseph was hated by his brothers (Genesis 37:5), and they plotted to kill him. They changed their minds and sold him into slavery. (Genesis 37:24-27) After being sold into slavery, he was falsely imprisoned because he refused to commit sin (Genesis 39:19-20). Yet we do not read of Joseph blaming God for his situation. Indeed, as the story unfolds, we find that all of this happened because God planned it. Joseph said to his brothers, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” (Genesis 50:20)

Israel– The Israelites were God’s chosen people. He loved them, but they turned their backs on Him. God punished them severely for their unbelief, having them to wander in the wilderness for forty years. Many wanted to return to Egypt. Many thought God wanted them to die in the wilderness. However, God used all of their suffering to prepare them to enter the Promise Land, a land that, at that time, must have been like the Garden of Eden. God describes the land by saying, “For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills;8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper.” (Deuteronomy 8:7-9) Yet God still warned them that if they forgot the Lord, and followed other gods, and served them and worshipped them, He said, “I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.” (Deuteronomy 8:19)

Manasseh– Manasseh was the most wicked king of Judah. As a result, God brought the army of the Assyrians to Jerusalem. Manasseh was captured, hooked in the mouth like a fish, bound, and carried off into captivity. During this affliction, Manasseh “implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him.” (2 Chronicles 33:12-13). As a result of this, Manasseh was allowed to return to Jerusalem.

Prodigal son– In Luke, chapter fifteen, we read the parable of the prodigal. You remember the story of how a man’s younger son demanded his inheritance, was given it and squandered it. Penniless, after living a life of sin, he returns home to serve his father as a slave. The story tells us that the father saw him when he was still a great way off, had compassion, ran and fell on his neck, and kissed him. If I understand this parable, God is the father, and the younger son represents the Gentiles. Though they were separated from God, God still loved them and wanted them to return home. So it is with us. We like the prodigal, often suffer because of our own mistakes and decisions. However, God is still there. God wants us to return to Him.

Paul– No one can doubt the love and loyalty Paul had to his Savior. Yet, in a time of his deepest sorrow, Paul turns to God and asks Him to remove a “thorn,” a physical problem that Paul was enduring. No doubt, this physical problem was a great hindrance to Paul, which also hindered his preaching the gospel. Paul prayed three times, asking God to remove the thorn, but God would not. Satan had given Paul the “thorn” to cripple the cause of Christ, but God used the “thorn” to Paul’s advantage. Notice Paul’s words: “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Paul had to learn the lesson of the thorns, and we need to learn the lesson as well. We need to learn (1) The spiritual is far more important than the physical. (2) God knows how to balance burdens and blessings, suffering and glory. (3) Physical affliction need not be a barrier to effective service to the Lord, and (4) We can always rest in God’s Word.

How Can The Sorrow Benefit Us?

Can we find that God’s people can actually benefit from the difficulties of life? God has a number of benefits for His people, but sometimes we must go through the briars in order to smell the roses. Notice these benefits of the thorns of life:

  • God’s power and faithfulness can be exhibited in our lives. In John 9:1-6, we have the story of Jesus healing the man that was born blind. Jesus said he was born blind so that the “Son of God may be glorified through it.”
  • In teaching us the will of God. Our afflictions can help us learn God’s statutes. How many people do you know that have turned to God after some great difficulty or after the death of a loved one? “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. (Psalm 119:71)
  • In turning to God. In leading us to seek God in prayer. This can be seen in the Psalm, which says, “When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God.” (Psalm 78:34)
  • In testing our sincerity. So many examples could be given of those oppressed turning to God. But to summarize this point, God said, “I will return again to My place Till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek me.” (Hosea 5:15)
  • In trying our faith. “But He knows the way that I take, When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10) “For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined” (Psalm 66:10)
  • In humbling us. “who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end.” Deuteronomy 8:16
  • In exercising our patience. ‘And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance” (Romans 5:3), “knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” (James 1:3) “For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.” (1 Peter 2:20)
  • In rendering us fruitful in good works. Jesus prunes us that we might bear more fruit. Pruning can be a painful process. (John 15:2) Also, God chastens us, and we know that chastening is painful. The Hebrew writer says, “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11)
  • In furthering the gospel. The persecution of the church in Jerusalem resulted in the Christians being scattered, and they went “everywhere preaching the word.” (Acts 8:4) Paul told the Philippians that the things that had happened to him (persecutions and imprisonments) had “actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.” (Philippians 1:12)

Conclusion

Where was God when you suffered? The same place He was when His Son suffered. He is on the throne of heaven, waiting for the right time to welcome home the saints of all ages and to take vengeance on those who have hurt them. And we shall overcome and be victorious over all forces and power that Satan has used against us in this great spiritual battle.