Where is God When Bad Things Happen?
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September 11, 2001, at 8:19 AM ET, American Airlines flight 11, was hijacked just twenty minutes after takeoff from Logan International Airport in Boston.
8:46 AM the plane was flown into floors 93-99 on the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
Five minutes ahead of American Airlines flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175 departed Logan International Airport at 8:14 AM headed to LAX. 9:03 AM that morning, it was flown into floors 75-85 on the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
2753 people were killed that morning at the World Trade Center, and millions more cried out where was God?
Sunday night, October 1, 2017, 851 people were injured and 58 were killed at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip, when 64 year old Stephen Paddock began shooting into the crowd at 10:05 PM.
Millions of people wondered, “How could God let this happen?”
Valentine’s Day 2018, at 2:19 PM a young man stepped out of a vehicle carrying a duffel bag and a backpack.
He walked into building 12 of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida and began shooting.
31 people were shot, 17 of them died. Again, people cried out, “Where was God?”
Indeed, where was God in these tragedies? Let’s take a look.
Where is God When Bad Things Happen?
June 25, 1962 the United States Supreme Court ruled in the Engle vs Vitale case that prayer in public schools violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
One year later, June 17, 1963 in the Abington School District vs Schempp, the Supreme Court ruled Bible reading in the public schools also violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Based upon these decisions and other rulings by the courts, the Ten Commandments have been removed from display in schools, court rooms, city, county, and state buildings.
Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are not permitted to be named on school grounds, in college and university classrooms, or other public arenas.
Creator God has been removed from science, medicine, philosophy and psychology.
Yet, when a tragedy takes place the cry is, “Where is God? Why did God allow this to happen;” when the very mention of God is not allowed in fields of psychology and philosophy.
The idea of a creator is not allowed in anthropology, biology, sociology, medicine, or any of the scientific disciplines.
This begs the question, “Who determines right or wrong?”
You must ask, “What requires there be integrity and truth in the political area, the halls of justice, the scientific reports and medical research?”
Who decides the terrorist acts of 9-1-1 and the shootings in Las Vegas and Florida are evil?
Philosophy, biology, anthropology, sociology, and medicine do not have the capacity for deciding right and wrong; truth or deception.
That is metaphysical.
It is a spiritual discipline.
When you divorce all other disciplines from God and His Word there is no basis for a culture to have a moral value.
There is no basis upon which to set a standard of right and wrong.
All restraints for law and order or manners and good behavior have been removed. The individuals living in that culture determine their own values of right and wrong.
Decisions making is based upon intrinsic value.
Actions are not made out of inner discipline and self-control but by the eye gate and how the person feels at the moment.
Social order is fluid and random.
Jesus was standing before the Roman Governor Pilate. Having already been judged and sentenced by the High Priests and the Jewish Sanhedrin, He was now to be judged and sentenced by the Gentile ruler.
Pilate demanded, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus responded by asking him, “Are you speaking of your own accord or did others tell you about Me?”
Pilate was frustrated with the entire situation. His exasperation shown through, as he shot back at Jesus, “Your own people are accusing you. What have you done?”
Jesus answered humbly, “My kingdom is not of this world. You say correctly, I am a king. For this reason I was born and for this reason I came into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
Maybe somewhat startled; possibly just pragmatic, Pilate looked at Jesus and asked, “What is truth?”
Whatever his motive; the Governor did not wait around for Jesus to answer. He turned and walked out of the room went before the public and said, “I find no guilt in Him at all.”
What would have been different had He waited to find out, “What is truth?”
Instead, he simply acted upon what he was seeing with his eyes and the emotions he was dealing with at that moment.
How often do you make the same error?
Do you wait on the Lord to discover the truth in a particular situation?
It is amazing how many times we make decisions based upon what we are seeing and experiencing at the moment.
When the results of such decision making turn out awful the repercussions are usually very unpleasant.
Too often, the person is filled with bitterness, anger, and frustration.
Then they blame it on God. “Why did you let this happen to me? Where were you? Why didn’t you stop me?
You have to ask yourself, “Did I wait for the answer of truth or did I choose to ignore it at that moment?”
Psalm 1:1-3 addresses another aspect regarding the question, “What is truth?”
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the council of the ungodly, no stands in the path of sinners, nor seats in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he does shall prosper” (NKJV).
The question being addressed by King David, “What is your source of truth?”
This must not be ignored or taken lightly.
If your source of truth is filled with disinformation or distortion you are not building life upon truth.
Indeed, if your source of truth has even the slightest measure of distortion or disinformation, you are at great risk.
There is only one source of absolute truth, the Word of the Living God.
“The entirety of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous judgments endures forever” (Psalm 119:160 NKJV).
When you fall in love with the Word of God, as the Psalmist said: “O how I love thy law it is my meditation day and night” (119:97) and you take great delight in searching its truth, you will build on a solid foundation. Your life will be blessed and bountiful.
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