Where is God?

I can see them now, trapped beneath the rubble. Conscious for days but unable to move. All around them, they hear the noises of others being pulled from similar predicaments. They try to scream, but the sound is silenced by the wreckage. In breathless patience, they hope that they won't have to be under there for much longer. They think of their families and wonder whether they survived. Some cry out to God. Others doubt His presence even more.

In view of the amount of attention Haiti has received these past few weeks due to the devastating earthquake that ravaged Port-au-Prince on January 12th, perhaps it is a little cliche of me to speak of it now. But for the present, it provides a great example of God's great hands quietly working in the background of such razement.

Yes, it's a bit hard to believe that God was involved in something as terrible as the Haitian disaster, but we must remember that the whole world is His, and He has a plan for everyone in it. I think that whether we recognize it or not, most American Christians have settled for belief in a fair-weather God. When everything is going great for us, halelujah! God must care! But as soon as our sheltered lives demand us to step out upon the raging waves, we rush to the helm, knock God out of our way, and quickly steer ourselves as far from the storm as possible, not realizing that we are missing some of the greatest chances to let God shine through us.

When people look at situations such as Haiti, it is not uncommon for them to ask themselves where God was. As Christians, we must understand enough about God's dealings with mankind to recognize His will playing out in the earth. God most likely was saddened for those thousands that lost their lives and loved ones. But He never tooks His eyes off the big picture He has envisioned for the world's redemption. He knew that, in the end, we would be better off because of it. Already, many people are hearing the Gospel as Christian survivors worship and pray. One congregation even placed benches outside of the church building for those affected by the earthquake. It is said that the glorious noise was wonderful, the wounded singing to the Savior along with those who remained relatively unscathed. In a land of death and darkness, a torch of life and light still burned strongly. In the blur of confusion, God is making Himself clear to the world.

Also, with the sudden inflow of personnel from developed countries, attention is at last being given to the financial state of Haiti, which is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. God, while drawing the world to Himself, might also be drawing us out of our comfortable slumber and awakening us to the needs of others.

We are children of God. Since the Bible commands us that we are supposed to strive to be like Him, we are obligated to carry out His qualities in every area of our life. This does not exclude looking at the big picture, or, in our case, looking for the big picture. Only then will we be able to answer non-Christians (and ourselves!) with truth when confronted with the question "Where is God?"