[This is one in a series of mid-week Reflections published by Horley Baptist Church during February 2021]
It’s easy to look at the world and to wonder where God is in it all. You only have to watch the news in the evening to realise the tragedy that goes on day after day. Where is God in the war and the conflict? Where is God in the Ebola crisis? Where is God in the food poverty experienced by so many in our country? Why is there so much suffering?
It was with those words that Katy Prior began her Sunday meditation, some six years ago[1]. It seems to me that only one word needs to be changed to bring the question up to date. Substitute ‘covid’ for ‘ebola’ and the situation she described becomes very familiar.
So, where is He?
It’s a question that baffled the intelligentsia of the day when some travellers arrived in Jerusalem approximately 2,000 years ago, asking the same question. The ruling authorities and spiritual leaders of the day did not have an answer – does that too sound familiar?
Where is He?
It’s a question that Elijah must have asked. Living during one of the most God-less periods of Old Testament history, in a nation that was supposed to be God’s chosen people, he felt very much alone in his devotion to the Lord. As he hid in a cave in Mount Horeb he was in fear for his life. Then he was treated to a pyrotechnics display which surpassed even that of Sydney on a New Year’s Eve. In quick succession he experienced a tornado, an earthquake and a firestorm, but none of these represented the true presence of God.
Elijah received his answer in the form of a quiet word. In due course, those travellers who enquired at the palace found their answer in a humbler location. Maybe that’s where we should look too. Behind the noise and drama of the news broadcasts there are quieter things going on. Not earth-shattering events but life-changing nonetheless. A simple gesture of friendship, an unexpected meal, a small donation to a food bank, even a softly-spoken word of encouragement.
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” [Matthew 25 v40 NIVUK]
[1] Katy Prior, 14/Dec/2014, HBC Yours
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author
Cheers Steve
Another thought-provoking meditation Steve, thank you!
Thanks Steve for your reminder of the quiet moments where the Lord speaks to us and the questions we all have at various times.
How do you manage to remember quotes from 6 years ago?
Every Blessing,
Clive.
Clive, that edition of ‘Yours’ was a bookmark in one of my Bibles. I found it when the internet was down and I had to resort to a ‘real’ Bible.