Where is God in Dark Times?

Reading the news today is like reading a dystopian novel. Violent crime rates are through the roof, babies and children are being murdered without thought, racial tensions are running high, and the threat of Covid-19 is causing chronic fear and anxiety. Sensationalized media stories, experts who constantly change their minds, and social media diatribes add even more fuel to the fire.

Where is God in all of this?

Who is the God of the Bible? What are his attributes? We only need look at the first 10 chapters of the Psalms to get several descriptors of who God is. He is:

Protector
Righteous and just
All-powerful
Faithful
Sustainer
Deliverer

Personal
Joy-giver
Present
Good
Unfailing in love

Merciful
Refuge
Majestic
Father to the fatherless
Compassionate

From the rest of the Bible we can also add these descriptions of our triune God:

Truth
Good Shepherd
Counselor
All-knowing
All-present
Good Father

Provider
King of Kings
Creator
Holy
Infinite
Unchangeable

Wise
Perfect
Glorious
Life
Comforter
Good

So, since God is all of these wonderful things, where is he during all of this chaos?

God is right here with us. The Bible tells us over and over again that, as Christians, God will never leave us or forsake us. Furthermore, Romans 8:31-39 tells us that nothing can separate us from God’s love – not riots, not pandemics, not violence, not racial issues – nothing. He is not only with us, but he is fully aware of everything happening everywhere in our world today.

As Christians, we basically know this answer already. The real question is this:

If God is here and he knows everything that’s happening, why doesn’t he step in and stop it?

The answer is free will. When God created us, he created us with the ability to choose. We can choose God who is life, or we can choose to reject God which is death. Just as we would not want someone to “love” us if they were forced to do so, God does not want that either. Love that’s demanded is no love at all.

We are living in a world where God has been asked to leave. A 2019 study by the Pew Research Center noted that the number of people who identify as Christians in the US has declined by 12% in the past decade.¹ Many countries are openly hostile toward Christianity, and this number is also growing. A 2016 study looked at hostilities toward various religions throughout the world. Christianity was the focus of that hostility in more nations than any other religion. (144 nations.)^2.The Center for the Study of Global Christianity estimated that 90,000 Christians were martyred between 2006 and 2016.³

But even in nations where there is not open hostility to Christianity, the God of the Bible has been forced out of institutions such as schools, public buildings, and businesses, while other religions and their symbols are welcomed under the concept of “tolerance”.

Our world has embraced what God has called sin. God told us to avoid certain things in order to protect us, but there are many today who think that they know better than God and choose to decide for themselves what is right and what is not. Humanity is seeing the results of those choices today in illness, disease, violence, and hatred. The problem is — and always has been — sin. The answer is Jesus.

God will not force himself on anyone, but patiently waits for his children to come to him. 2 Chronicles 7:14 reminds us that if his people would turn to him, put away their pride and arrogance, and repent of their sin, he would heal their land.

As a parent, I chose to discipline my daughter through natural consequences. When little Nicki refused to leave the ball pit at McDonalds, the next several stops were drive-through only. When she didn’t ask permission to paint and take the necessary precautions to keep the paint off the carpet, she lost the privilege of painting for a period of time. When she was disrespectful to an adult at a waterpark, we left the park. She quickly learned that not following the rules had consequences that she didn’t like. From this, she learned to be a responsible, respectful, relational person as she grew older.

God is our Heavenly Father, and he needs us to learn about consequences as well. And before we, as Christians, cry foul for suffering the consequences for actions of others, we are just as much to blame. The Bible tells us that all of us are sinners. All of us deserve divine condemnation. As humans, we can never be “good enough” to “achieve” salvation as so many other religions attempt to do. Christianity is the only religion where God came to us in the form of Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for our sins. It is the only religion where our Savior sends his Holy Spirit to live in us to counsel and guide us. We all need to recognize the fallen state of the human existence and recognize our need for a Savior.

Another practice I adopted as a parent was the giving of warnings. There were two distinctive types of warnings that my daughter heard as a child. One was a warning to remind her about the rules. “Remember that if you use your paints without telling me, you will lose the privilege of painting for a time.” But the second type of warning was to let her know that the end of an activity was approaching. “You can go down the slide 5 more times and then we need to leave.” “You can stay up for 15 minutes more, but then it is time for bed.” By giving these warnings, she was not surprised by the end of the activity, and she was less likely to become upset. It also gave her the opportunity to finish up specific things that were most important to her.

In the same way, God gives his people warnings. There were over 300 prophecies about the first coming of Jesus to our world, all of which were literally fulfilled. There are even more Biblical prophecies (over 1000) about the second coming of Christ, and if God is consistent, which he is, they will also literally be fulfilled. The world will someday find itself in a -seven-year period of intense upheaval and persecution leading to a 1,000 year reign of Christ on our physical earth. Just prior to this, the Church (those who have given their lives to Jesus) will be taken up to meet Jesus in the clouds – an event known as the rapture. (For a more in-depth discussion of this topic, please see the article “How” in the Resources section.)

For many, the rapture will come as a complete shock. But the apostle Paul tells us that we should watch for the signs of the last days so that it doesn’t take us by surprise.

Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly livesas you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
2 Peter 3:3-17 (NIV)

This world is not our home. The chaos, confusion and heartbreak of a fallen world are reminders to us of this important truth. God is allowing the chaos to happen for now, but there will come a time when he says, “Enough!” Until he does, we can have hope and peace in the assurance that God is still in control and that we know the end of the story.

If you have not given your life to Jesus, I urge you not to wait! To do so, you can pray a prayer something like this:

Dear God,
I admit that I’m a sinner in need of a Savior. I believe that Jesus Christ is your Son, that he came to this fallen world, that he took my sin and my punishment by dying on a cross, and that you raised him from the dead. I want to turn away from sin and follow Jesus. Jesus, come into my heart and change me from within. Be the Lord of my life! Thank you for your grace and mercy! Amen

If you prayed this prayer, please connect with someone who can help with next steps and mentor you on your Christian walk. If you don’t know anyone, please feel free to email me at Luanne@songofvictory.com.

If you have already accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please prayerfully consider what God wants you to do. And keep looking up!