Where Was God?

 I'm trying to stay off social media for the most part, except for the posts that I need to make. It's volatile and toxic, to say the least, and there's no such thing as a reasonable discussion. So, I'm mostly taking a break. But this morning, I had to post the link to this blog and a couple of other things, so I scrolled my FaceBook feed for just a minute. 

There was a story of a police officer who had been in his patrol car during the recent tornado outbreak across the eastern US. The twister picked the police car up with him inside. Twisted it around and spit it out a way down the road. Scary ordeal, by any measure. The posting party stated that the officer suffered some very significant injuries and that he had quite the road to recovery. Then they said, "God was with him." I know they meant this in a grateful way and that the man was spared because God was with him. 

But it kinda set off a bunch of questions for me. Firstly, if God was with him (and of course He was because He's always with us all!), why wasn't he spared the wreck in the first place? And, why was he injured at all? Was God not with my son, who suffered a severe TBI all those years ago? Was God not with the person who died in a crash down the road? There is such a dichotomy of thoughts and questions on either side of this struggle. 

Since God is with us and we cannot change that - why do bad things happen? I have no idea. But God being present in the Garden with Adam and Eve didn't prevent them from freedom of choice - and that was a choice that affected all of mankind. His presence didn't prevent their sinful deed. But, His presence continued with them outside the garden even though they suffered the consequences.

It's not God's fault when something bad happens and He is good whether we walk through storms or not. His goodness, His presence, His grace - none of it changes in response to our situations. My son wasn't "protected" from physical harm when his friend pulled out in front of a truck. But his soul is safely tucked into God's heart with absolutely no loss to his salvation, God's grace, or God's presence. 

The presence of God in our circumstances is not measurable. He is just with us no matter what the winds of life kick up. He was with Joseph in the prison cell. God was present with Jonah in the belly of the whale, even though it was his disobedience that got him stuck there to begin with. Lol. He was with Daniel in the lion's den and the three Hebrew children in the furnace. He was with Jesus on the cross. His presence permeated horrible circumstances - it didn't prohibit them.

Today, I refuse to measure the nearness, goodness, and intention of God based on my circumstances. I will choose to rejoice that He is with me even when life sucks. When life hurts and I can't see Him or feel Him, I choose to trust He has me tucked safely in His heart, even if my soul has curled up in the fetal position. I'll remind myself that God being with me doesn't keep bad things from happening. But, since He is with me, I can face anything life throws because He's got my back and He's got me. I can trust Him for one more day, will you join me?

Command Your Mornings is a 31-day devotional that walks through scriptures that talk about taking charge of your day, your heart, your trust, your head in the morning. The surprising thing is that when we take charge of our hearts in the morning and declare we will follow Him – the rest of the day follows suit.You can get the print and kindle versions are available in my Amazon Shop.

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