Where Is God When It Hurts?

We all have our fair share of questions for God, but the one which seems most pressing and personal is, “God, why do you let such bad things happen to me?” Where is God when life hurts? So often it is at just the times we need him most, he seems so distant, so far away. Does he do that on purpose? Is he playing games with us? Or maybe it’s because he just can’t do much about our problems? As a popular author wrote, “God wants the righteous to live peaceful, happy lives, but sometimes even He can’t bring that about. It is too difficult even for God to keep cruelty and chaos from claiming their innocent victims.” 1 But if there are some things God just can’t keep from happening, exactly what can he do? Where does his ability to help us begin and end?

It is rather an unnerving thought to look at all the evil in the world – past and present – and know that the Bible says God has always been in control over everything that happens and always will be. But that means God, at the very least, allows some pretty horrible things to take place without raising a finger to stop it. Are we left between a rock and a hard place? Do we either have a limited, restricted God or a God who doesn’t care about the people he created?

This weekend we’re going to work through the above questions by seeing what the Scriptures say. What we’ll find won’t answer all our questions but it will be a whole lot better than either a God with his hands tied behind his back or a God who doesn’t care. When we’re hurting bad, we need help that is the size of the God of the Bible. The good news, in spite of all the hard questions, is that he is worthy of our trust always, especially in the worst of times.

1 Harold S. Kushner, When Bad Things Happen to Good People (New York: Avon, 1983), pp. 43, 81.

Saturday night worship: 6:00 pm
Sunday morning worship: 10:00 am