
Where are you, God?

When I woke up, I remembered the snow and ice storm coming across the Midwest heading east, with rain on its way to my part of the country. My son was traveling home from Kentucky that day, prompting me to look at the weather in his location. Sure enough, a snowstorm hovered over that entire part of the country. And he was driving in it.
I immediately thought of the dangers and reached out to a handful of people, asking for prayer for my son and those traveling with him.
Less than an hour later, he called me. They had been in a three-car wreck on the interstate. Everyone was shaky but okay.
As I thought about the events of the day, I wondered about all those prayers lifted on their behalf. Did God not hear us? Why didn’t he protect them?
In my spirit, these words pricked my heart. “Maybe He did.” Even though they wrecked, God protected them from injury. Things certainly could have been a lot worse.
Have you experienced a similar situation where God spoke to your heart about something you prayed over?
Joseph must have thought God had abandoned or forgotten him when his brothers sold him into slavery. Later, after being wrongly accused and sent to prison, did he question God? Did he wonder if that was the end of his story? (See Genesis 37, 39.)
Hardships can serve a greater purpose
The Bible tells us God wasn’t done with Joseph. He used those experiences to protect Joseph and his family for many years.
Do hardships sometimes come when we are trying to do the Lord’s work? I believe so. We see this often in Scripture as well through our own experiences.
My son and his friends had just left a Christian conference focusing on sharing the good news of Jesus with others. That wreck had to be disheartening after the spiritual encouragement and inspiration they had just experienced.
But God wasn’t done with them and their mission to share Christ.
Now, my car . . . that’s another story.
“Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things” (Ecclesiastes 11:5 NLT).
_____________