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Where is Godin the Midst of Tragedy?
To what degree can we rely on God to be withus? Is He really someone we can turn to at all...in times of crisis as well as times of calm?
God Who is There
God is the Creator of the universe who yearnsfor us to know Him. That is why we are allhere. It is His desire that we rely on andexperience His strength, love, justice, holinessand compassion. So He says to all who arewilling, “Come to Me.”Unlike us, God knows what will happentomorrow, next week, next year, the next decade. He says, “I am God, and there is noone like me, declaring the end from thebeginning.”
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He knows what will happen in theworld. More importantly, He knows what will occurin your life and can be there for you, if you’ve chosento include Him in your life. He tells us that He can be“our refuge and strength, an ever-present help intimes of trouble.”
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But we must make a sincere effort to seek Him. He says, “you will seek Me and find Me,when you search for Me with all your heart.”
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That doesn’t mean that those who know God willescape difficult times. They won’t. When a terrorist attack causes suffering and death, those who knowGod will be involved in that suffering also. But thereis a peace and a strength that God’s presence gives.One follower of Jesus Christ put it this way: “We arehard pressed on every side, but not crushed; per-plexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
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Realitytells us that we will experience problems in life.However, if we go through themwhile knowing God, we can react to them with adifferent perspective and with a strength that is not our own. No problem has the capacity to be insur-mountable to God. He is bigger than all the prob-lems that can hit us, and we are not left alone todeal with them.God’s Word tells us, “The Lord is good, a refuge intimes of trouble. He cares for those who trust inhim.”
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And, “The Lord is near to all who call onhim, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills thedesires of those who fear him; he hears their cryand saves them.”
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Jesus Christ told His followers these comfortingwords: “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? Andyet not one of them will fall to the ground apart 
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from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are allnumbered. Therefore do not fear; you are of more valuethan many sparrows.”
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If you truly turn to God, He willcare for you as no one else does, and in a way that noone else can.
But What About Evil and Suffering?
God has created humanitywith the ability to choose.This means that we arenot forced into a relation-ship with Him. He allowsus to reject Him and tocommit other evil acts aswell. He could force us tobe loving. He could forceus to be good. But thenwhat kind of relationshipwould we have with Him? It would not be a relationshipat all, but a forced, abso-lutely controlled obedience.Instead He gave us thehuman dignity of free will.Naturally, we cry from the depths of our souls...“But God, how could You let something of this magnitudehappen?”How would we want God to act? Do we want Him tocontrol the actions of people? In the case of dealing witha terrorist attack, what could possibly be an acceptablenumber of deaths for God to allow?! Would we feelbetter if God allowed only the murder of hundreds?Would we rather God allowed only the death of oneperson? Yet if God would prevent the murder of evenone person, there is no longer freedom to choose.People choose to ignore God, to defy God, to go theirown way and commit horrible acts against others.
The World We Live In
This planet is not a safe place. Someone might shoot us.Or we might be hit by a car. Or we might have to jumpfrom a building attacked by terrorists. Or any number of things that might happen to us in this harsh environ-ment called Earth, the place where God’s will is not always followed.Yet, God is not at the mercy of people, but the other wayaround. We are at His mercy, fortunately. This is Godwho created the universe with its uncountable stars,simply by speaking thewords, “Let there be lights inthe expanse of the sky.”
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Thisis God who says He “reignsover the nations.”
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He isunlimited in power andwisdom. Though problemsseem insurmountable to us,we have an incrediblycapable God who remindsus, “Behold, I am the LORD,the God of all flesh; isanything too hard for Me?”
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Somehow He is able tomaintain the freedom of sinful humans, yet still bringabout His will. God clearlysays, “My counsel shallstand, and I will accomplishall My purpose.”
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And wecan draw comfort from that if our lives are submitted to Him. “For Godopposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
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What About Our Lives?
Many of us—no, all of us—choose at times to stiff-arm Godand His ways. Compared to others, certainly compared toa terrorist, we might consider ourselves to be respect-able, loving people. But in the raw honesty of our ownhearts, if we were to face God, it would be with theknowledge of our sin. As we begin to address God inprayer, are we not caught short, paused by the sense that God is well aware of our thoughts, actions and self-centeredness? We have...by our lives and actions...distanced ourselves from God. We have often lived likewe could run our lives just fine without Him. The Biblesays that “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of ushas turned to his own way.”
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The consequences? Our sin has separated us from God,and it affects more than this life. The penalty for our sin
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is death, or eternal separation from God. However, Godhas provided a way for us to be forgiven and know Him.
The Way God Provided
God came to earth to rescue us. “For God so loved theworld, that he sent his only Son, that whoever believes inhim should not perish, but have eternal life. For Godsent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world,but that the world might be saved through him.”
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God knows the pain and suffering we encounter in thisworld. Jesus left the safety and security of His home, andentered the hard environment we live in. Jesus got tired,knew hunger and thirst, battled accusations from othersand was ostracized by family and friends. But Jesusexperienced far more than daily hardships. Jesus, theSon of God in human form, willingly took all of our sinon Himself and paid ourpenalty of death. “In this islove, that he laid down his lifefor us.”
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He went throughtorture, dying a slow, humili-ating death of suffocation on across, so that we could beforgiven.Jesus told others ahead of time that He would becrucified. He said that threedays after His death Hewould come back to life,proving that He is God. Hedidn’t say He would reincar-nate someday. (Who wouldknow if He actually did it?)He said three days afterbeing buried He wouldshow Himself physicallyalive to those who saw His crucifixion.On that third day, Jesus’ tomb was found empty andmany people testified to seeing Him alive.He now offers us eternal life. We don’t earn this. It is agift from God offered to us, which we receive when weask Him to enter our lives. “The gift of God is eternal lifein Christ Jesus.”
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If we repent of our sin and turn backto God, we can have the gift of eternal life through JesusChrist. It’s pretty simple. “God has given us eternal life,and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life;he who does not have the Son of God does not havelife.”
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He wants to enter our lives.
The World To Come
What about heaven? The Bible says that God has “set eternity in the hearts of men.”
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Maybe that meanswe know, in our hearts, what a better world wouldlook like. The death of people we love convinces usthat there’s something very wrong with this life andthis world. Somewhere deep down in our souls, weknow that there must be a much better place to live,free from heart-wrenching difficulties and pain. Tobe sure, God does have a better place He offers us. It will be a completely different system in which Hiswill is done all the time. In this world, God will wipeevery tear from people’s eyes. There will be no moremourning, crying, death or pain.
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And God, by HisSpirit, will dwell in people in such a way that theywill never sin again.
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The events of theterrorist attack onAmerica are horrificenough. Refusing aneternal relationship withGod, which Jesus offersyou, would be worse. Not  just in light of eternal life,but there is no relation-ship which compares toknowing God in this life.He is our purpose in life,our source of comfort, ourwisdom in confusingtimes, our strength andhope. “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed isthe man who takes refugein him.”
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It has been said by some that God is just a crutch.But it is likely that He is the only reliable one.Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I giveto you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them beafraid.”
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For those who will rely on Jesus duringtheir lives, He says it is like building your life on aRock. Whatever crises attack you in this life, He cankeep you strong.
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Rose

Well, I think this is awesome! Very well explained!

reply09 / 02 / 2010
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