Where Is God?

It's at Christmas time that we are reminded of the silence between God and His people from the end of the Old Testament to the birth of Jesus. In fact, it was 400 years of silence. Can you imagine how the people must have wondered how God could allow so much evil around them? Armies traipsing through their country, taking over, bringing order but also destroying their peace at the same time. Syrians, Greeks then the Romans. Don't you think they would have asked where God was in all their misery?

Because we have 20/20 hindsight, from our perspective we can see that it was for a purpose. Without the Romans, there would not have been a census to send Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem thus fulfilling prophecy. (Isaiah 7:13-14) And, only with the Romans did Jesus die on a tree thus becoming sin so He could save us from sin, and again fulfilling prophecy. (Matthew 16:21) Later, Paul used Roman law to make his way to the capital of the greatest empire to rule the world. From there he reached many Gentiles. For this, I am thankful.

In recent days, I have reflected on the terrible things happening around the world. Crazy killings and bombings. Destructive forces that seem to be unstoppable. Are we going through another time of silence from God? Are we once again asking where is God? Is the church praying regarding the crimes being done to our fellow brothers and sisters around the world? You may wonder, is God even listening?

The message in a recent sermon I heard was: Do not mistaken God's silence for His absence.

My question now, is there a reason for the apparent silence? Is God planning something big again? The last time God was silent Jesus came as a baby. Is His silence leading up to Jesus' return? How bad will things get before they can get better? Another blogger wrote about God and His answering prayer, read it here.

The peace that the angel called the shepherds to have (Luke 2:10-14) is here for us today. My peace comes from knowing that God is watching it all. And those who are guilty will one day know the truth about God and His power. There is always hope in knowing that God has a plan and one day we will get to see it unfold.