IS JESUS NOT WITH US?

I am watching the coverage of the mining accident on television and I cannot believe what I am seeing.  It is a tragedy, to be sure.  Imagine knowing your loved one is trapped below the earth and cannot breathe.  Imagine knowing that they will certainly die before the day is over.  
So, with weak knees and a paralyzed heart, you stagger to the one place you believe can do something, the church.  You heard someone say it will take a miracle and you decide to pray for just that.  God can provide; He can find a way out of this living nightmare.  So, you get down on your knees and pray to God.  Beside your fellow townspeople and your support network, you pour your soul out to the One who knows and listens.  Surely, He will provide a miracle for His faithful.
And He does.  You all hear word that the miners are safe and are even going to make an appearance at the church before they go to the hospital.  Immediately you are praising God, thanking Jesus.  You burst into a beautiful rendition of ‘How great thou Art.’  When the ever-present media asks how you feel about the miracle, you make a public declaration, praising and thanking God for His wonderful provision.  
Then, the whole world stands still when you hear the news that changes your life forever.  It appears that all previous reports were wrong and your loved one is actually dead.  There was a ‘miscommunication’ from down below and only one man survived and he’s not yours.  All your chapters have closed, all your roads have ended and there appears to be one person to blame.  It would be the same One you were just praising hours ago.  

Watching this coverage on the television, I am amazed at what I hear.  I hear people recanting their praise, and even denying their very faith.  They cannot believe there can be such a God that gives and takes away like that.  They are stunned that all that praying and worshipping was in vain.  Oh, I know they were angry and upset.  But I vividly remember one woman that the media interviewed.  She says that she is from a Christian family, but there are some that are seriously beginning to doubt that there is still a Lord in control.  
OH SWEET JESUS, WHERE WERE YOU?    

“As parents feel for their children, God feels for those who fear him.  He knows us inside and out, keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.  Men and women don’t live very long; like wildflowers they spring up and blossom. But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly, leaving nothing to show they were here.  God’s love, though is every and always, eternally present to all those who fear him, Making everything right for them and their children as they follow his Covenant ways and remember to do whatever he said, God has set his throne in heaven; he rules over us all.  He’s the King!  So bless God, you angels, ready and able to fly at his bidding, quick to hear and do what he says.  Bless God, all you armies of angels, alert to respond to whatever he wills.  Bless God, all creatures, wherever you are-everything and everyone made by God.  And you, O my soul, bless God!  David in Psalm 103

“I, God, am your Savior, your Redeemer, Champion of Jacob, I’ll give you only the best-no more hand-me-downs!...God will be your eternal light, your God will bathe you in splendor.  Your sun will never go down, your moon will never fade.  I will be your eternal light.  Your days of grieving are over.”  God in Isaiah 60.

God never abandons.  He does not promise anywhere in the Bible that there will be no pain or sorrow while we are here.  In fact, He promises that the tears will be wiped away when we’re in heaven.  He doesn’t abandon us when we curse His name, reject His son, turn our backs.  You know what you’ve heard; His ways are not our ways.  Well, it’s true.  What happened at the mine is sorrowful, but it is not a sign that God played tricks or that He abandoned anyone.  We will never have a clear reason why it happens.  All we can cling to is the love and hope of tomorrows.  Think about it.