Where was God? - Jeremiah 29:11

Guest post by Neely Beattie

Often times when something bad happens people say, "Where was God?"

I've thought it. I bet you've thought it. I don't think you're human if you haven't, honestly.

Praying recently, I was basically apologizing for always seeing the negative in everything and getting in a rut of expecting the worst to happen. It's one of my biggest obstacles. I am a negative person, plain and simple.

Yesterday, I was thinking that even through all bad times, I can find at least one good thing despite them or in the midst of them. It might be something so small I almost miss it, but in the hard and trying times, there's almost always something good.

That made me think of the quote from Mr. Rogers,

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of "disaster," I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world."

Sign Me Up!

We are not guaranteed a trouble-free life. 1 Peter 5:10 affirms this: “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

Bad things happen.
Inconvenient things happen.
Disasters happen.
Things that make absolutely no sense happen.

These circumstances are unavoidable I suppose because Adam and Eve chose to eat that stinking apple. In our emotional state of frustration or fatigue we might ask "where was God?" But I bet if we look back and can see at least one good thing in an unpleasant situation, that's where God was.

If you look for God, you can always find Him. That's because He never left.

Think about it. The bible clearly says that God is love (1 John 4:8). He wants to give us good gifts (Matthew 7:11). Everything He does works together for good (Romans 8:28). His plans for us are for us to prosper, not to harm us (Jeremiah 29:11).

God is good.

If this is true, and we accept that it is, then it makes sense that that's where we will find Him--in the good.

Satan wants us to see the negative in our lives. He wants us to think God makes difficult, sometimes unbearable, things happen and that He abandons us in the midst of them.

Satan wants you to doubt God and His intentions. He wants you to think God is malicious, distant, and the cause of your heartache.

NONE OF THAT IS TRUE.