Do You Wonder — Where Is God?

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Are you struggling right now, trying to recoup from bad decisions you made? Did these decisions create problems that overwhelm you, making you feel alone and unloved? Perhaps you are wondering why God isn’t there, helping you through this turmoil. I encourage you, do not be discouraged!

The Bible tells us from the beginning, that God has been with us and He will never leave us:

Here’s what the Bible says about God strengthening us in times of trouble:

Psalm55:22 Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

Isaiah 41:13 For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

These are just two of many verses stating we should trust God in all circumstances. But, does trusting God in all things mean nothing bad thing will ever happen to us? Of course not!

Remember, we are not yet living within heaven’s gates!

We still reside within the realm of mankind. We live under the curse of Adam and Eve. You can find information on the curse located all the way up front in the beginning of the Bible: Genesis 3. It was because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God that His perfect creation for us changed — we were banished from His holy garden to become separated from Him.

We think we have problems! Imagine actually walking and living in the presence of God, only to be banished from His place – Ouch! Man was banished from the perfect garden God created. Yes, that is cause for struggle. However, God did not turn His back on the perfect human that was also created by Him. Instead, God had a plan to save us.

Let’s look back at the beginning chapters of Genesis to refresh our memories and see Who sought whom in the garden.

Genesis 1 gives the story of God creating the world in six days:

Day 1 – light
Day 2 – sky and water
Day 3 – land and seas and vegetation
Day 4 – sun and moon and stars
Day 5 – fish and birds
Day 6 – animals

Genesis 2 gives the story of God creating a man from the dust of the ground and a women from the rib He took out of man.

The Bible does not offer a length of time for chapter two. However, it does explain how God first took man to the garden where man, now called Adam, was to tend it. This garden, now called Eden, is where God instructed Adam not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

During Adam’s time in Eden God brought all the animals to man that God had made, and man named the animals. It was then that no suitable helper was found for man so God created woman. At that time Adam and the woman, who would be Adam’s wife and named Eve, were both naked and felt no shame.

This is a lot of background information I’m sharing before we get into why you should trust God, but stay with me! It’s one thing for me to try and force you to trust God. It’s something totally different when you understand truth behind my suggestion and you trust Him by choice. It is important you make the decision to believe God on your own.

So to continue—we then find in Genesis 3 the crafty serpent tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Eve, in turn, gives some of the fruit to Adam for him to eat. Now because the fruit comes from the very tree – the tree of knowledge of good and evil that God specifically told Adam NOT to eat from – their eyes became open and they realize they are naked. Then they sew fig leaves together to cover themselves.

Now. . .what just happened here?

Let me proclaim loud and clear – this was it! This was thee moment man fell from the perfect plan God intended for us. We fell from the eternal life God created, the place He wanted to enjoy with us.

Now, Adam and Eve, after eating the forbidden fruit and who had been naked all along, become aware of their nakedness. They realize they are exposed for who they are (literally and figuratively) and feel the need to cover their bodies–their identities. This was man’s original sin. . . the fall. . .man was removed from God’s original plan of perfection for us. This first sinful act of mankind occurs in Genesis 3:1-7 as Adam and Eve are in the Garden of Eden.

But — what wonderful thing happens next? God walks in!

In the cool of the day God walks in the garden and He looks for Adam and Eve. “Where are you?” God called.

We find Adam and Eve, ashamed they have sinned, hiding themselves. In the midst of their personal struggle they choose to hide from God, instead of turning to Him, The One who created them. Yet wonderfully, God was there walking in Eden seeking them out. God came to seek the lost. He never abandons us.

Before He created, God being God knew we would sin against Him. Yet He still chose to create us. God, in His infinite love, had a plan laid out in the beginning to save us from our own sin—that plan was the sacrifice of Jesus!

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Where is God when you are struggling? He is actually seeking you, just as He sought out Adam and Eve. And His perfect plan for eternal life was returned to us in the form of His Son, Jesus.

I encourage you right now to pray. Ask God into the midst of your struggle. Open your heart and invite Him in to give you peace and understanding, comfort and assurance that He loves you and is always with you.

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To learn and share the importance of keeping God’s name holy, order copies of my book, LIFT HIM UP DON’T PULL HIM DOWN, @ LULU.COM or AMAZON.COM for your next Bible study.