Where is God? A massive catastrophic super typhoon, over 300 miles wide, moved across the Philippines early Saturday morning. Where is God? The killer storm, going by the name Haiyan, brought death to over 10,000 and caused mammoth destruction and misery to displaced hundreds of thousands. As of yet, though, no one can give a true account of the horrendous devastation. But where is God?
It is reported that most of the storm’s damage affected the population in the southern Philippines, while those residents in the north were, for the most part spared the ravages of the disaster. In the southern and central regions, the city of Tacloban on the island of Leyte was the hardest hit. With winds reaching 235 miles per hour, and walls of storm surge (sea water) as high as 20 feet invading the land, plus heavy torrential rains, Haiyan has punched meteorological records as the most severe storm ever to strike the Philippines, which is generally prone to these kinds of storms. But where was God in all the carnage?
Well, on behalf of my fellow ministers and churches on the island of Anguilla, and as pastor of the No-Walls Church of Hope, I wish to extend my most sincere sympathy to all the residents of our local Philippine community. We stand in prayers with you, and wish you would realize that God is near. He is standing right by and, as omniscient as He is, He is indeed aware of all the destruction. We trust that your loved ones who have survived would find God close to them in this testing time of tragedy.
I take note of one village survivor who had been so overwhelmed by the massive degree of devastation that he inquired, in frustration, “Where is God?” His pondering question may leave others to wonder the same. But we must endeavor to understand that in catastrophes such as these God is reached when we allow our faith to transcend the disaster. We must look beyond the death and devastation to find Him, even in the most minute of ways. God is not seen with the naked eye. It takes faith in Him in the midst of these kinds of circumstances, to relate with Him as much as He wants to relate with us.
Yes, God could have prevented the hand of Haiyan from causing damage – such great loss. He could have eased the impact. He could have diminished the winds. But instead of preventing the disaster, God allowed it like He has allowed so many other tragedies before. His allowing unfortunate circumstances like these is for His purpose and for the accomplishment of His divine and sovereign will. We as mortals may never know what His purpose is, but for us who have experienced His workings through these kinds of disasters in the past, we know that at times He allows such incidents in order for Him to get our attention – and helpless moments experienced by these disasters create a chance to draw closer to Him by faith.
So, yes, in a certain sense it is good to ask the question, “Where is God”. But let us not stop there. For if by faith we make an effort to find Him with all our heart, we will find that He is there to comfort and sustain those who need Him most. So, keep the faith Philipinos – God is near.
