This verse is debatable for many Christians! Going into our 17th year in roadside ministry, Karen and I have ministered to thousands of people. One thing that sticks out to me are the number of people who went through, or are in the midst of, a difficult situation and have the same question on their lips, “Where WAS God?” or “Where IS God?” The Lord had a long conversation with me about this not long ago! Friends from out-of-town came to our home for lunch one day. They were staying 40 miles away in a pretty rough area. That night, one block from their motel, a man was shot and killed by a stranger. When Karen and I saw this on the local news that night, we thanked God for His protection over our friends’ family. The Lord said, “This is everyday life to most Christians, but they don’t realize it!” I asked, “Lord, what do you mean?” He explained, “Your friends are enjoying a relaxing evening in their motel room and don’t even know that a life was taken one block away. They were completely unaware of the magnitude of the evil which took place just around the corner from them.” He continued, “This happens so often in the lives of Christians. I protect them tens of thousands of times throughout their lives, but they don’t know how I am watching out for them, keeping them from being at the wrong place at the wrong time, scaring away someone meaning to do them harm!” The Lord said, “I protect My people over and over more times than they could ever count. But then they experience a hard time and they get angry at Me and walk away, saying, ‘Lord, where were you? Why didn’t you stop this? I can’t trust you!’ Yes, trials will come in life. I never promised that once you become a Christian, nothing bad will ever happen again. But you have no idea the number of things that I take you through safely!” The Lord began to show me how many times He was there for me, for me and Karen, times when He told us to leave, times He told us not to go, times we had a check in our spirits that prevented us from being in the wrong place at the wrong time! The Lord is always there, whether we feel Him or not. If you’re going through a hard time, sit in silence in the loving presence of your Father and, as a child talking to your daddy, say, “Lord, help me understand how you were there through this time in my life!” Then let Him talk! Stop, talk, most of all listen. He will show you how He was always there, loving you through the events in your life, bringing about the plan and the purpose He’s always had for your life.
