Where is God?

Where is God?

A rhetorical question that may be echoed over and over in a world filled with unrest, confusion, and the constant search for something beyond us, but what that is still remains a mystery.  Of course Augustine may have put that search to rest when he said; “Our hearts are restless until we rest in you.”

However, there must be many people who never heard these words or have glistened over their meaning as in a glorious expectation of brilliance that never seems to appear.  What are they, or we, expecting in a troubled society where too many unexpected events continue to clutter our sense of normal living with sudden and at times subtle incursions to our mental process.  The finiteness of the human mind may find it rather difficult to assimilate these new and unwelcome entries.  They  certainly will upset the most articulate thinking person with questions that could change the direction of many people in a socially accepted atmosphere.  Just what are these attacks on the human psyche that may be considered out of place, yet here they are, unwanted but real?

Recently, I wrote an article titled, “Idolatry” The Scourge that will destroy us! wherein the mention of keeping God central to our lives has become absent with too many persons.  We are living in a time of severe paranoia where so many activities that are prevalent with us do not seem to have any positive reasons for our thinking and therefore become persecution complexes, and we do not see the damage these reflections are doing to us.  

Where is God?; stop the rhetoric and see what has begun in our society.  Let’s look at the factual events that are occurring daily, not just from guns and the murders of children, innocent people, and others in the news, but the disregard for life in general.  In case you didn’t get the gist of this article, we are all being subjected to a theme that God experienced with the Israelites in the desert after the release from Egypt when the Hebrew people turned away from God and how He had to let them fend for themselves for 40 years, until they finally sought after Him.  

Is this how we, as a society of believers, exist placing God second?  What has to happen to place Him first in our lives?  It took Pearl Harbor to awaken Americans to find solace with a God who cares.  Remember 9/11?  You almost couldn’t find a seat in most churches.  

But, today!  Do we have too much materialism flowing in our veins?  Do we really need God anymore since we are flourishing, prosperous, happy, and doing it our way?  

New-age philosophies with many Hollywood names who seek a new type of religion called Scientology, INC Christianity with people in power and politics call themselves self-appointed prophets of who knows what, and many who have fallen away from traditional Christianity for a less structured tradition.  Money, prestige, and political power have become the new gods of society.  This has created a lot of misunderstanding about gods that are not God Himself.  Is it any wonder that our God has become second or even further hidden on the shelves of former Christians for something that promises nothing but disillusionment.    

Have we forgotten that God, created us to love and serve Him in this life in order to love and worship with Him in the next.  Too many people have more than enough and seeking more has become a constant quest where with each new treasure on our shelves, God has slipped behind the glitter of silver and gold.  If we are not careful, we may easily forget which shelf we have pushed God, or any semblance that He even exists.