Saturday, August 6, 2011

"Where is God?"

I have heard this question a lot.....you probably have heard it also.  It is the question used by those folks who do not know the Lord as they give excuses as to why they have their doubts about God. Truth be told, it is also a question asked by Christians who get hit with some bad news or tragedy that turns their world upside down.

 "Where was God when the twin towers were attacked in New York City?"
"Where is God when bad things happen?"
"Where is God?  I just lost my job and I have a family to feed and bills to pay?

On and on the question is asked in various circumstances.  Is it a valid question?  Well any question is valid if someone is sincerely asking....so let's look today at "Where is God?"

When God put Adam and Eve in the garden, He gave them an incredible gift called "free will".  He gave them instructions and He laid out the consequences should they disobey the instructions.  In a very short time it was all a mess right there in the garden.  The consequence of death kicked in and here we are thousands of years later still facing the consequences of the sin of disobedience that occurred in that garden.

It has intrigued me at times that God did not take away the free will of man that day.  The punishment could have been taking away the free will of man but God did not desire to make us robots forcing us to follow Him.

Today is no different.  God has given the Bible that is full of instructions....it is full on consequences for those who fail to follow those instructions and He has even laid out the blessings for those who do choose to follow.  He has then placed us in this world with a free will.

The sin that we see in abundance in this world is a result of people exercising their free will in a wrong way.  God desires that we take the free will that He has given us and surrender it to Him.  He longs for us to lay it at His feet and allow ourselves to be controlled by the Holy Spirit not by our free will.  But we have to initiate that process.  He does not force Himself on us.

Why are the bad stuff happening in the world today?  We have not consented to be led by God, and His Holy Spirit.

My job is in the medical field.  Every day I am at work my patients are asked to consent to treatments.  Someone may have cancer, they may even be in the later stages of cancer and their only hope is surgery.  A surgeon cannot just wheel them into the operating room and cut on them against their will.  They have to sign a consent form.  Most sign the consent....but their are some who refuse.  There are some who agree to it and then back out at the last minute.  By doing so, they face the consequences laid out for them by the surgeon.

A popular medical term that most folks are familiar with today is the word "DNR" .  It means "Do Not Resuscitate."  A person has signed a form telling their medical team that if they stop breathing or if they go into a coma or if their heart stops beating, they do not want CPR, they do not want their heart to be shocked with the hopes of restarting it, they do not want to be put on a machine that will breathe for them.  The medical team is required to honor the wishes of the patient, even though the consequences may be death itself.  We respect the free will of the patient to make such a decision.

I believe most folks in this world have told God, our Heavenly Physician that we want to be a "DNR"  He says "Come now and let us reason together....though your sins be as scarlet they can be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson they can be as wool"  we say..."No thanks"  (Isaiah 1:18)

He says that His Holy Spirit can breathe new life into us.....we say "no thanks" (II Corinthians 3:6)

He offers us a new heart.....we say "no thanks"  (Ezekiel 11:19)

He offers to renew our mind- we say "no thanks"  (Romans 12:2)

He offers us a total body makeover- "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.  Old things are passed away, behold all things become new."  (II Corinthians 5:17) we say "No thanks"

The consent form has been laid before us.  It has been laid before every nation, every tribe, every tongue, every people.  A healing of our land by the Creator Himself.  Will we sign on the dotted line?

Time is running out.  In medicine we tell patients something obvious.  The time to operate on the cancer is sooner rather than later.  Cancer spreads, cancer eats away and in time cancer can reach a stage where it becomes inoperable.  Death is imminent.

So it is with sin.  Sin spreads, sin eats away.  The time to take care of sin is the moment we see it crop up in our lives.  There comes a time when sin can bring destruction that leaves a permanent scar.....perhaps even damage that cannot be completely repaired.

Where is God?  He is everywhere.  But He is a gentleman, intervening only where He is invited to do so.  He is  like the surgeon at the bedside of the patient saying let me help you, sign the consent....I can fix the problem.

America and many other nations have kicked Him out and then wonder where He is at when a tragedy occurs.  It's like a patient who refused the surgeon's help now lying on their death bed and wondering where the surgeon is at and why he is not helping to save their life.



Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me..Revelation 3:20

He is knocking!  Will we open the door?
To God be the glory!