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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

GOD...WHERE WERE YOU

I found God on the corner of 1st and Amistad
Where the West was all but won
All alone, smoking his last cigarette
I said, "Where've you been?" He said, "Ask anything."
Where were you, when everything was falling apart?
All my days were spent by the telephone that never rang
And all I needed was a call that never came
To the corner of 1st and Amistad
Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late, you found me, you found me.

These words from The Fray's 'You Found Me' keep goin through my head. It sorta expresses my heart. Haven't you had things 'fall apart' on one level or another?

I think It's the tension we feel when we're caught in between the way things are and the way things should be. It's an emotional strain and drain that causes us to remember at the same time that God is good - but also ask why our lives are not.
Like the relationship that started so amazingly well, yet ended with a callous and cowardly texts or messages on Facebook and left us feeling as valuable as garbage.
Like the loss of a friend. Like the disappointment in circumstances. Like the million other things that make us cry out to God and ask - 'Where were You?'

There's this man who lived thousands of years ago who lost more and experienced more pain than perhaps anyone else who walked this earth. His name was Job, and just when his life was going as well as any life could go, here's what happened:

Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's hous, a messanger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and i alone have escaped to tell you." While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and comsumed them, and i alone have escaped to tell you." While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels and took them and slew the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you." While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in thier oldest brother's house, and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you." (Job 1:13-19)

Can you imagine this scene? In just that little of time Job lost everything that was near and dear to him. All possessions and family ripped from his life in a matter of minutes. I think i might have been asking God where He was at that point. And yet, here is the song that came from the pieces of Job's shattered heart:

"Naked I came from my mothers womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God. (Job 1:21-22).

Job was human just as much as you or me, but the difference is he didn't have a human perspective. Rather than focusing on the sting of things falling apart, he trusted in the power of the God who holds everything together. He worshiped God with tears and resisted the temptation to blame the evils of this world on the Creator of the universe. WOW!

Things do fall apart, and it is OK to ask God where He was at that time. But there's a difference between asking and blaming.
Asking is trying to find an answer. Blaming is assuming you already know. And what you should know is that God has it all under control. You may feel like He wasn't there in a difficult time but the reality is He was probably closer than you ever imagined. He doesn't need to find you because He never let you go in the first place. That's why we have these promises that we need to cling to during the storms of life:

But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you; When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you." (Isaiah 43:1-2).

"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33).

Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, " I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU, NOR FORSAKE YOU." (Hebrews 13:5).

May these truths go with you in the midst of your trials!

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