Sept. 22, 2002 John 11
“Where was God?”
INTRODUCTION
I got a new cell phone this week – same phone #, just different phone. I never had a cell phone before I moved to West Virginia. I didn’t see the use in having one. But now that I have one, it’s great! When I’m on the road, I can call Tammy and let her know where I am and when I’ll be home. And since she has one now too, I can call her and find out where she is. Sometimes, when I call here, she’ll give me bad news. She’ll tell me that Ben did badly on a test or that Victoria got her feelings hurt or that her students were awful that day.
Phones are wonderful things, but they can communicate bad news sometimes. Like the call one fellow received from his wife just as she was about to fly home from Europe. “How’s my cat?” she asked. And quite abruptly, he answered, “The cat is dead.” “Oh, honey, don’t be so honest. Why didn’t you break the news to me slowly? You’ve ruined my trip.” “What do you mean?” “You could have told me he was on the roof. And when I called you from Paris, you could have told me he was acting sluggish. Then when I called from London, you could have said he was sick, and when I called you from New York, you could have said he was at the vet. Then, when I arrived home, you could have said he was dead.” The husband had never been exposed to such protocol but was willing to learn. “OK,” he said. “I’ll do better next time.” “By the way,” she asked, “how’s Mom?” There was a long silence, then he replied, “Uh, she’s on the roof.”
The phone company tells us that the busiest day of phone usage is normally Mother’s Day. But I have to believe that the phone traffic, particularly the cell phone traffic on Sept. 11, 2001 far exceeded all previously set records. Have you imagined yourself on the other end of one of those phone calls? Phone calls from the hijacked airplanes, phone calls from the Pentagon, phone calls from the World Trade Center. Everyone who was using their phones began their conversation with pretty much the same question. They asked, “Where are you?” Some callers received assurance that those on the other end of the line were safe and out of harm’s way. But for many, those calls were to say good-bye – to let their loved ones know that they were trapped on one of the upper floors of the WTC, and that they were not going to make it out alive. The biggest question of the day was, “Where are you?” (America Looks Up by Max Lucado, p. 67-68)
As often as that question was asked, and as important as it was, it was dwarfed in comparison to the question of the year: “Where was God?” People began to ask this question almost immediately following the events of that day, and they didn’t stop asking it all year long. Did God know about the attacks before they happened? And if he knew about the attacks, why did he allow them to happen? Why didn’t He stand as a giant shield between those planes and their targets? Or better still, why didn’t he cause their visa applications to be rejected? Where was God in all of this?
This question is nothing new. People have been asking it ever since suffering has been a part of human existence. The Bible records the lives and experiences of scores of people who had opportunity to question the presence of God with them while they were going through tough times. There’s righteous Abel, who was whacked on the head by his brother, Cain. Where was God in that? There’s innocent Joseph who was sold into slavery by his brothers and thrown into jail because of false accusations. There’s Lazarus who was one of Jesus’ best friends that died from a sickness that Jesus could have cured. And then there’s Jesus, God’s own Son, who cried from the cross, “My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me?”
Maybe you have gone through experiences that have caused you to voice this same question. Or even if you haven’t voiced the question, the events of last year or the tragedies of your own life have caused you to question the character or the activity of God. In response to this question, we’re going to look at some things which I believe will help us better comprehend and experience the presence of God at all times of our lives. We’re going to at least partially answer the question, “Where was God?”
In order to do that, we must first answer another question: “What is God like?” The better we understand God, the better we will be able to understand His actions. So, this morning, we’re going to talk about 7 characteristics or descriptions of God. As we do, consider this: God is here. There may have been other times in your life when you thought God was absent, and you got hurt. God is here right now, and He wants to say something to you. Let Him speak to your heart.
1. God is existent.
Another way of saying this is simply “God is”. Do you know that the Bible really does not try to prove the existence of God? It simply states that God is. “In the beginning, God…” (Gen. 1:1) The only evidence that the Bible gives for the existence of God is the presence and complexity of the universe. But talk about your evidence – the moon, and the planets and the stars!
Yet even with that evidence, there are still some who refuse to believe that there is a God. For them, there is no point in asking the question, “Where was God?” because to them, God doesn’t exist to begin with. As an atheist, it is easy to understand the events of 9/11. Bad people did a bad thing. End of story.
As great as it would be to understand 9/11 in simple terms like that, think of what else a person would be losing when they deny the existence of God. They have no reason to hope, no reason to love, no reason to expect any order to their lives, and certainly no future. For them, when they die, it is all over.
I don’t think that there is anyone here this morning that fits into the complete atheist category. But there may be some here that fit into the partial or practical atheist category. A partial atheist is a person who denies the existence of some of God’s characteristics. They [accept that there is a God but] have a warped, distorted idea of [who He is]. Inevitably their perception of God distorts His character in some flagrant way. For example, they accept that He is loving but reject that He is a God of holiness and justice… And then, there are practical atheists - those who have an inadequate understanding of Scripture [which is why they have a distorted view of God]. They misunderstand the ways of God because they have not studied the Bible and question how He acts and why He allows tragedy and evil in this world [which is the subject we dealt with on the 8th of this month]. (When Tragedy Strikes by Charles Stanley, p. 28-29) They eventually allow the circumstances of their lives to turn them into theists – people who believe that God may have created the world, but then He sent it spinning off into the universe and is no longer involved in mankind’s affairs.
2. God is transcendent.
That’s a big word that simply means God is above us or that He is higher than we are. In Isa 55:8-9, God says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” God does not think about things the way that we do, and therefore, He does not respond to events in the same way that we would. If we were in God’s place, we might have turned Afghanistan into a giant parking lot. And because God didn’t act the way that we expected or the way that we would have, we get mad at Him. Because He doesn’t answer our prayer the way that we think He should, we accuse Him of messing up or being wrong.
You parents, do you always do what your children expect you to do or ask you to do? No, of course not. And the reason that you don’t is because you see a bigger portion of the whole picture than your children do. They don’t understand, they get mad, they think that you are in the wrong. And we behave the same way toward God because we can’t see things from His perspective.
Think about it this way. Our children see things from the perspective of sea level. We see things from the perspective of the foothills. But God has the perspective of heaven and eternity. He knows how all the pieces that seem to make no sense whatsoever to us fit together into a beautiful picture.
“To conclude that [God] is unwise or unworthy at a time like this assumes that we can be his judge and that we have enough facts at our disposal to draw a final conclusion about him.” (A reason for hope, p. 74) Can we see far enough or high enough to be God’s judge? I don’t think so.
It is because God has this kind of perspective that God does not use His power to totally destroy mankind from off the face of the earth – which is what I would do if I was in God’s place. That brings us to our next characteristic.
3. God is powerful.
One summer night during a severe thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small son into bed. She was about to turn the light off when he asked in a trembling voice, "Mommy, will you stay with me all night?" Smiling the mother gave him a warm, reassuring hug and said tenderly, "I can’t dear, I have to sleep in Daddy’s room." A long silence followed. At last it was broken by a shaky voice saying, "The big sissy!"
We want the presence of someone who is greater than us, bigger than us, someone who is able to stop the boogy monster from coming through the closet door. But when some tragedy or heartache happens in our lives, we wrongly assume that means that God is no longer present or that He has lost His power. Did you ever think that God allows those tragedies in our lives so that when all the surface stuff is gone – the stuff that clouds our vision and confuses our priorities – we will be able to focus solely on Him and recognize that He was all we needed in the first place.
Some people have tried to come to terms with the tragic events of their lives by saying that God would have stopped them, but He did not have the power to be able to do so. But that would mean that somewhere out there is something more powerful than God. Worse yet, it would mean that man is more powerful than God. It would mean that man can do whatever He wants, because God is powerless to stop him. A thought like that sends chills up my spine. If that was true, I would bar my windows, bolt the door and never let my family out of the house.
But thankfully, my God is powerful. My God put the universe in place with the power of His words. My God parted the Red Sea and allowed the Israelites to walk through on dry ground. When my God said, “Lazarus, come forth!”, a dead man came back to life. And miracle of miracles, my God had the power to wash all my sins away by the blood of Jesus Christ. My God is more powerful than sin, death or Satan! Nothing is more powerful than Him! Not even your pain. God may not have stopped the suffering that was headed your way, but He has the power to let healing come into your life if you will let Him.
God’s power and God’s perspective make Him the perfect one to be the King of the universe.
4. God is sovereign.
Storms come into everyone’s lives. And when those storms come, we are tempted to think that there is no one in control, and we are getting ready to die. Jesus disciples had an experience like that. They were out on the Sea of Galilee, and a huge storm came up. They were afraid for their lives, and everyone was working with all their might to bring the boat under control and get it to safety. Everyone except Jesus, that is. They turned around and looked, and there, curled in the stern of the boat was Jesus. They didn’t know whether to be amazed or angry, so they were both. How could He sleep at a time like this? How could He sleep through the storm? Simple – He was in charge of it. (America Looks Up, p. 24-25)
Of all the personal storms that the Bible records, I can think of none worse than the storm that Job faced. In one day’s time, he lost all of his possessions, the respect of his wife and community and all ten of his kids. What do they say when people have gone through a tragedy, and they can’t think of any way to comfort their friends? They say, “Well, at least you’ve got your health.” Job lost that too. “Job hadn’t even had time to bury his children before he saw the leprosy on his hands and the boils on his skin. His four friends came with the bedside manner of a drill sergeant, telling him that God’s fair, and pain is result of evil, and as sure as two plus two equals four, Job must have some criminal record in his past to suffer so. Each had his own interpretation of God, and each spoke long and loud about who God is and why God had done what he had done.” (America Looks Up, p. 52-53) In one sense, I wish that Job’s friends had been right. If my suffering was always the result of my own personal sin, it would make it a lot easier to understand and accept that suffering. Unfortunately, it is never that simple.
“For thirty-six chapters Job [and his friends] give [their] opinions on God. [They} define God, explain God, and review God. We are 37 chapters into the book before God clears his throat to speak. Chapter 38 begins with these words: ‘then the Lord answered Job.’” (America Looks Up, by Max Lucado, p. 54) And over the course of the next 4 chapters, God pounds Job with question after question. It’s as if God is saying, “You’ve been questioning me. Now, take a listen to my questions.” The first question that God voices is in verse 2: “Who are you?” “Who are you to question the God of the universe?” Maybe God would say that to us too. And then the next question in vs. 4 is even more to the point: “Where were you?” “Where were you when I put the universe in motion?” See, Job had been asking where God was, and God turned Job’s question back on Him. “As soon as you are able to handle these simple matters of storing stars and stretching the neck of the ostrich, then we’ll have a talk about pain and suffering. But until then, we can do without your commentary.” (America Looks Up by Max Lucado, p. 56-57) “Before he heard God, Job couldn’t speak enough. After he heard God, he couldn’t speak at all.” (America Looks Up by Max Lucado, p. 57) God’s point to Job is the same point that He would make to us. He was telling Job that regardless of what he saw happening around Him, God had been in control since the beginning of time, He was still in control, and He would always be in control.
But the fact that God is in control does not mean that we live in a perfect world. “God in his infinite wisdom created an environment for mankind in which people have a choice to love and surrender to him or to go their own way and live life on their own terms.” (A reason for hope, p. 75) Remember that in a world where God is sovereign, His only Son was crucified. But the sovereignty of God does mean that nothing happens in our lives that does not first pass through the loving hands of God and that is not limited in how severe it will be in our lives.
In all of the negative things that Job had to say, he included a statement of faith. He said, (Job 19:25 NIV) I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. Job had no idea what God was doing, but He knew that God was alive, He knew that he had a personal relationship with this God, and He knew that He would see God for himself one day because God was in control.
5. God is loving.
A story is told of two men who worked in the audit department of a large bank. They made an overnight trip to a distant branch of the bank, and ate at a local restaurant. They arrived at the bank the next morning, only to be promptly arrested by the state police. Upon inquiry, they discovered that a police captain had eaten at the same restaurant the night before and had overheard the chief auditor tell the other man, “First we’ll hit the tellers, and then we’ll get the vault.” The police captain had made a very good assumption about the situation, based on the information as he had overheard it, but his assumption was also very wrong.
When we take the information that we have and make assumptions based on that information, we often come to the wrong conclusion. We know the truth that God is love, and based on that, we assume that means that we get to lead a pain-free life.
Mary and Martha were facing the same problem we face today. Lazarus got sick – really sick. His sisters were not worried. They knew that Jesus was not far away, and better still, they knew that Jesus loved Lazarus. So they sent word for Jesus to come immediately. They said, “The one whom you love is sick.” But something went wrong. Jesus didn’t show up until it was too late. Lazarus died. When Jesus did show up, Mary and Martha made it clear that they were disappointed in Jesus. They were looking at a tragedy and saying, “where were you, Lord, in all of this?” The fact is that Mary and Martha knew where Jesus was. Their real question was not “Where were you?” but “Why were you still there? Do you really care?”
In Jn. 3:16, it says, “For God so loved the world”. But how do we know that’s true? We know because of the next part: “that He gave His only begotten Son”. God proved His love by giving His Son. That’s also how He proved that He cares. God could have stayed where He was – distant from our suffering. But He entered into our pain by becoming one of us. And then He made a way for us to defeat our pain through the cross.
6. God is immanent.
“Grandpa walked into the family room and found his little grandson, Jeffy, standing up in his playpen, crying. He looked so pitiful, standing there in his little baseball T-shirt and diaper. His face was red and tear-stained from crying. When Jeffy saw his grandpa, his face lit up in a way that smote the old man’s heart. He immediately reached up his chubby little hands in supplication. “Out Papa, out!” What grandpa could resist such a plea? Not this one! He walked over to the playpen and reached down to lift his little buddy out of captivity and distress. Just then, however, Law and Order stepped into the room. Jeffy’s mother walked out of the kitchen with a dishtowel in her hand and spoke sternly. “No, Jeffy! You are being punished. You have to stay in bed! Leave him right there, Dad.” “Oh, fine.” Now what’s a grandpa to do? His grandson’s tears and reaching little hands tugged mightily at his heart- but he didn’t want to interfere with a mother’s discipline either. He couldn’t stand staying in the same room with the boy, reading his newspaper and pretending to be aloof. Nor could he turn around and walk out the door without feeling like a betrayer to his little pal. What could he do? Love found a way. Since Grandpa couldn’t take Jeffy out of the playpen, he climbed in with him. “If you’re in the playpen, Buddy, I’m in the playpen. What’s your sentence? How long are you in for?” And finding a big, jolly grandpa suddenly filling his little prison cell, the little boy found comfort even in his captivity.
We have to suffer because of sin. God is just and has to punish sin. But rather than leave us in our pain, He came to where we are and joined in on our suffering. That is what immanence means. It is the presence of God in our lives.
Gordon MacDonald, pastor and former head of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship spent a week at Ground Zero ministering to the workers there. It was a life-changing experience for him. Listen to what he had to say: “No church service, no church sanctuary, no religiously inspiring service has spoken so deeply into my soul and witnessed to the presence of God as those hours last night at the crash site. In all my years of Christian ministry, …being on that street, giving cold water to workmen, praying and weeping with them, listening to their stories was the closest I have ever felt to God.” Friends, when we see God at work through compassionate, caring deeds and when we sense his presence through the caring hands of others, then we can face the future with a degree of confidence that would be utterly lacking and absent from us if we stood alone. (When Tragedy Strikes, by Charles Stanley, p. 5-6) At the very sight of destruction that had caused so many to cry out, “Where was God”, others were able to feel His presence like they hadn’t felt it anywhere else. It all depends on what you’re looking for and what kind of eyes you are looking with.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8) He’s not just talking about seeing God one day. He’s talking about seeing today – seeing the presence and activity of God in people and circumstances all around us. If God seems far away, maybe you have forgotten how to see him, or maybe you have cataracts on your spiritual eyes because your heart has become clouded by some things that don’t belong there.
It would have been wonderful to be alive when Jesus was physically present on earth. But even for those who got to enjoy the physical presence of God, there came a day that Jesus had to leave. On that day, Jesus told the wonderful news of the coming of the Holy Spirit. He told His disciples that each one of them and all those who followed in their footsteps would be filled with the Holy Spirit, and that they together would become the body of Christ. That’s what we are – the physical body of Christ on the earth. Our mouths have become God’s mouth to speak words of truth, comfort and warning to people. Our hands and arms have become God’s hands and arms to hold people as they sob over their lost friends and family. Our feet became God’s feet to bring food, clothing and help to the people who experienced 9/11 and all the other tragedies of life. Where was God on 9/11? He was in the comforting words of the pastors who did so much counseling, the hands of the disaster relief workers who served so many meals, and he was in the feet of the Christian police and firemen who helped to carry injured people to safety. We, the Church, are the presence of God in this world, not because we are God, but because we have God living in us.
We have the choice, though, in determining how well we will manifest that presence. Tommy Tenney, in his book The God Chasers, talks about his desire to let the presence of God show through in his life. He says, “I made up my mind and set my heart to declare, ‘I am going to pursue the presence of God in my life. I am going to get so close to god that when I walk into secular and public places, people will meet Him.’ They may not know that I’m there, but they will definitely know that He is there. I want to be so saturated with God’s presence that when I take a seat on a plane, then everyone near me will suddenly feel uncomfortable if they’re not right with God – even though I haven’t said a word.” – p. 113-114.
7. God is patient.
If it was up to us, we would have probably already have wiped out every terrorist on the earth. Osama ben Laden wouldn’t just be in jail. He would be in hell. The people who have caused us pain without cause would have already been inflicted with cancer or some other dread disease. But God is not like us. Instead of bringing immediate judgment on a world that offends him an overtly sinful ways, he has spanned all of history with his patience. …And while judgment day will eventually come, scripture affirms that the Lord “is patient with you; not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9) - (p. 76)
So we must wait. But we do not have to wait alone. Just before attacking the hijackers that had taken over his plane, Todd Beamer quoted the 23rd Psalm. Verse 4 of that psalm says “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…” Todd’s widow, Lisa wrote a book about the events of that day. It’s called, "Let’s Roll." In that book, Lisa talks about the loss of her dad earlier in her life and what God taught her through that loss. She says, “Slowly I began to understand that the plans God has for us don’t just include ‘good things’, but the whole array of human events...I remember my mom saying that many people look for miracles- things that in their human minds ‘fix’ a difficult situation. Many miracles, however, are not a change to the normal course of human events; they’re found in God’s ability and desire to sustain and nurture people through even the worst situations. Somewhere along the way, I stopped demanding that God fix the problems in my life and started to be thankful for his presence as I endured them.” Lisa Beamer: “Let’s Roll: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage. Tyndale House Pub; ISBN: 0842373195; (August 20, 2002). "Wrestling with the Whys," pg. 69.
God is patient with His world, and God is patient with us. We don’t have all the answers right now, so we too need to be patient. (1 Cor 13:12 KJV) For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. Not everything is clear now, but it will be clear one day. More than anything else, it will be clear that God was present with us the whole way.
CONCLUSION
A man’s daughter had asked the local pastor to come and pray with her father. When the pastor arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. "I guess you were expecting me," he said. "No, who are you?" "I’m the new associate at your local church," the pastor replied. "When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up." "Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?" Puzzled, the pastor shut the door. "I’ve never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man. "But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it always went right over my head.. I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued, "until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, ’Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here’s what I suggest. Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It’s not spooky because he promised, ’I’ll be with you always.’ Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you’re doing with me right now." "So, I tried it and I’ve liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I’m careful, though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she’d either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm." The pastor was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, and returned to the church. Two nights later the daughter called to tell the pastor that her daddy had died that afternoon. "Did he seem to die in peace?" he asked. "Yes, when I left the house around two o’clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me one of his corny jokes, and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange, In fact, beyond strange--kind of weird. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on a chair beside the bed."
All those years, he had practiced the presence of God in his life – right there beside his bed. So when the end came, he continued his practice and peacefully walked into the presence of God in heaven.
The answer to the question [where was God] is that God is still in the same place that He was when things were going well. He is present with us. I think we ask the wrong question when we ask where God is in the midst of trouble. Instead, we need to ask ourselves, “Where are we with God?” God is always there when times are good and when they are bad. Many people only want to serve a God that keeps them from any harm or that keeps them from having trials in life. That is exactly what Job said when his world had fallen apart. Instead of accusing God of forsaking him, he said, “Shall we accept good from God and not evil?”
INVITATION
You say you will never forget where you were when you heard the news on September 11, 2001. Neither will I. I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room with a man who called his wife to say "Good-Bye." I held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the peace to say, "Honey, I am not going to make it, but it is OK...I am ready to go." I was with his wife when he called as she fed breakfast to their children. I held her up as she tried to understand his words and as she realized he wasn’t coming home that night. I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a woman cried out to Me for help. I said, "I have been knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years! Of course I will show you the way home - only believe in Me now." I was at the base of the building with the Priest ministering to the injured and devastated souls. I took him home to tend to his flock in Heaven. He heard my voice and answered. I was on all four of those planes, in every seat, with every prayer. I was with the crew as they were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the believers there, comforting and assuring them that their faith had saved them. I was in Texas, Kansas, London! . I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news. Did you sense Me? I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew every name - though not all knew Me. Some met Me for the first time on the 86th floor. Some sought Me with their last breath. Some couldn’t hear Me calling to them through the smoke and flames; "Come to Me... this way... take my hand." Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me. But, I was there.
I did not place you in the Tower that day. You may not know why, but I do. However, if you were there in that explosive moment in time, would you have reached for Me? September 11, 2001 was not the end of the journey for you. But someday your journey will end. And I will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are "ready to go." And I will be in the stairwell of your final moments. – God
The biggest question of this past year has been, “Where was God?” But the biggest question of right now and the rest of eternity is, “Where are you?”
