Where is God?

There’s a story about two young boys, age 8 and 10 who were really mischievous and always into trouble. The parents were just at the end of their rope, and they heard that the local pastor was good with children. The boy’s mother asked if he’d talk to her boys, and the clergyman agreed but asked to see them one at a time. The mother sent the 8-year-old in first while she and the other son waited outside.

The preacher, it turned out, was a big burly man with a booming voice. He sat the young man down and asked him sternly, “Where is God?” The boy’s mouth dropped open, but he said nothing. Then the big man began to pace back and forth across the room. The pastor then spoke even more sternly, “WHERE is GOD?” The boy sat, frozen, scared to death. Finally, the preacher raised his voice to a fevered pitch. WHERE IS GOD?

At that, the boy screamed and ran out of the room, out of the church, and into the yard where his mother and brother were waiting. Pale and trembling, he looked at his older brother and said, “Dude, we are in big trouble. God is missing and they think we did it!

God is not missing. Sometimes it feels like it though, doesn’t it? Sometimes we get to a point where we just feel like God is distant, maybe a distant concept or idea instead of a Spirit that is alive within us. Sometimes the whole idea that God would guide us or lead us feels foreign. But maybe the question really is: are we shaping our lives in such a way that we have time to listen and to be led?

For centuries now, Christians have used the season of Lent to deepen their walk with Christ. Some of you, I imagine have developed habits of prayer and silence. For others of you, maybe the end of this season could be a perfect opportunity to begin to carve out time and make it a priority.

I don’t know how this might look for you. I have a friend who when she had small children, used to hide in her closet first thing in the morning so that she could have ten minutes – ten minutes of prayer time.

However it looks for you, I pray that you would intentionally set aside time to be fed, to pray, and to listen. And may God meet you in the quiet and holy moments.

Let us pray: Loving God, it is easy to fill every waking moment with activity. I pray that you would help us to carve out time to sit in your presence and be renewed in your love. As we are fed, give us the strength we need to feed others. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.