“I don’t want to die. I want it all to end as soon as possible.”
Those are the words of a young girl named Vladi as Putin’s forces started attacking her home country of Ukraine. I remember reading the account from American Family News, and it was shocking to think of what this young girl was experiencing.
As the war has spread, we’ve seen the impact it’s had on millions of people. Emblazoned on my mind are images of the refugees fleeing their country desperately trying to get out of harm's way. And there are those families huddled in subway-turned-bomb-shelters…no doubt wondering what the future will bring.
I think of my Ukrainian brothers and sisters in Christ. What’s going through their minds? Do they wonder where God is in the midst of the chaos?
Let’s bring this closer to home. What about the godly couple I know who’ve dealt with crushing health issues and the heartbreak of wayward children? What about the people you know who have suffered tremendous losses? Or perhaps you have experienced unspeakable pain, and you too lie awake at night wondering where God is.
I don’t have all the answers. But I do have two things for you to consider in your season of very real struggles.
First, please open the Bible and read this book that God wrote to you. And second, plead with God to help you truly believe what He has to say to you in His Word. It can be just words on a page without the gracious help of the Holy Spirit.
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me. (Psalm 139:7-10, emphasis mine)
God, through the pen of David, assures us that wherever we are even there God is with us. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, David understood that no matter where he went God would be there with Him. And God was not only present, but He was actively leading David and holding him as he faced the evils of his day. That’s the message God has communicated to believers down through the ages through Psalm 139 and numerous other places in the Bible.
No matter where the believer goes, no matter what happens, even there God will be with him. God promises to lead us and to hold us. God’s needy children are led by the hand of an all-wise God and held in the arms of Almighty God. You can be assured that David took great comfort in that promise; you and I can take comfort in it too. And so can our Ukrainian brothers and sisters.
The Lord is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens! Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down and on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of His people. He gives a barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 113:4-9).
We may not understand why God allows certain things to happen. There are mysteries regarding the ways of the Lord that we will never fully understand here on earth. Think about that for a moment. Are you willing to accept that truth?
The good news is that our Father has communicated everything we need to know in His Word. And the Holy Spirit gives us the understanding and the courage to cling to what He reveals to us there.
Let’s saturate our minds and hearts with those things that our Father does want us to know and let’s ask Him for the strength and courage to faithfully live for Him…even when we have unanswered questions.
