In The Hard Stuff

 One of the questions people ask in hard times is where was God? Where was God in the holocaust in Nazi Germany? Where was God at Pearl Harbor? Where was God on 911? These questions persist on a personal level as well. Where was God during the abuse? Where was God during the tragedy of a baby drowning, a horrific car accident, during natural disasters, and the diagnosis and tragic suffering of cancer patients?

Sometimes the answers to those questions are not what we want to hear. God was there in tragic times of history. God is here is the most difficult times of life now. We may question why He didn't prevent the suffering. We may ponder reasons He did not intervene to stop the painful outcomes. Millions have in the past and I suppose millions more will do so in the future. 

It is one thing for me to sit down to type this in the safe confines of my office when things are mostly going right in my life. The suffering is held at bay,  at least for this current season. I am on the outside of hard times looking in on others coping with immense pain. I am sort of insulated from it to some extent. I may feel others pain vicariously, but it is not like going through that pain personally. That doesn't mean I haven't gone through hard stuff in the past. Physical abuse and sexual abuse are a part of my story. I had a father murdered. My four-year old sister drowned. My mother died at 54 on Mother's Day weekend. I've lived below the government standard for poverty on occasion. Where was God? He was there. In every bit of it He was present. 

It is easy to live life as a victim. You can blame God, your family, your teachers, coaches, or even your boss. It can always be somebody else's fault for your misery. Here is my approach. God did not cause people to sin. Adam and Even chose that in [Genesis 3:1-10]. Ever since that day people keep choosing sin. People choose to do sinful and hurtful things to other people. God did not choose that. It is the consequence of the curse of sin on this planet. God planned a perfect peaceful environment for the first two people to walk this planet. It was not enough. They had sumptuous and bountiful food to enjoy. They were forbidden from eating from just one tree. That is the tree the devil tempted them to take fruit. They willfully chose to disobey their Creator. Consequences followed and have continued to follow to this day. Hard stuff has been happening since then. 

We choose sin. We and our ancestors as well as those who will come after us. This truth is forgotten in all of our blaming God for the ills of society along with the tragedies. This is the path mankind chose and chooses over and over again. We think we know better than God. Now suffering is a part of the plight of the whole human race. Because of this we have hard stuff to go through. 

We can choose to live like victims when the hard stuff comes. We can also make the willful decision to live in victory over our circumstances. We can trust God in the hard stuff. Abraham did. Joseph did. Moses did. David did. Elijah did. Jeremiah did. Both Peter and Paul did. So can we. It is in the tough stuff we can learn that God is real. That He is trustworthy. That He does not abandon us in the tough stuff. He helps us through it. He may not answer our why questions, but He will be there in the tough times. He will listen as we vent. He will support us when our emotional reserves are depleted. 

God is still gracious. Tragedies do happen. People suffer and die. He still offers people a chance at redemption. [Rom 5:8] He is still there to comfort and strengthen suffering people. [Ps 34:18] He does not always stop terrible things from happening, but He is still available for those who cry out to Him. [Ps 50:15] He still gives peace that surpasses all understanding to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. [Phil 4:7] He still unloads burdens that are cast on Him. [Ps 55:22] He is there in the hard stuff. [John 16:33] He still offers eternal life that extends forever for those who put their faith in Him in the hope of eternal life. [John 3:16] God is with us in the hard stuff.