Most folks who love their chocolate have their favorites and my wife is no exception. So when she gets a box of mixed chocolates she presses her thumb into the bottom of each piece to see if it is one of her favorites. Occasionally the thumb test doesn’t work, and I’ll find a half eaten piece in the box. “Life,” as Forest Gump said, “is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”

As I read the newspaper or watch the evening news my stomach churns at the tragedies that surround us. In recent weeks we have experienced the loss of innocent life at the hands of a crazed gunman, the bombing of the Boston marathon, an explosion at a fertilizer plant, devastating tornadoes that decimated whole towns, rain storms that have flooded our communities, and most recently, forest fires that have ravaged mountain villages.

It is not surprising that in the midst of such tragedies a feeling of helplessness abounds and many wonder, “Where is God in all this?” The apostle Paul, who certainly faced great trials in his life, wrote this encouragement to the Corinthians, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

Where is God in all this? He is right here waiting for us to come to Him so He can comfort us and guide us. Trust Him. Turn to Him. There is comfort in the arms of our heavenly Father! Moreover, God comforts us so that we can in-turn comfort others. It is amazing how our own troubles seem to lessen when we share God’s love and compassion with others who are hurting!

Join the Conversation!

As always questions and comments are welcome. Have you recently gone through a situation in your life in which you wondered “Where is God in all this?” What did you do to get through it? Has a friend or loved one experienced a challenging life situation? What did you do to help them?

Category: Personal Development | Dependence on God