I have been asked to participate in a blog tour for a new book by Mike Calhoun: Where Was God When? I have not read the book or know much about Mike, so this isn’t necessarily an endorsement, but their idea of the blog tour was so interesting that I decided to participate. If you want to know more about the book go to www.wherewasgod.wol.org. As the title suggests, the book answers “Where was God When…?” questions. As part of the blog tour they are having people answer scenarios they are addressed in the book. Here’s my scenario and response below:

I have a twin brother. Two weeks after I left for college, God tried to take him away from me. He let his car spin out onto the highway, right into a tractor trailer. My brother laid there in the car, trapped under the trailer, crumpled up like a piece of paper, for an hour. God let my parents wonder if they still had two children. He made me regret leaving for college, leaving my family. God let my brother go through surgeries, tests, scans, pills, and hospitals. God let us wonder if our dream of opening a theater would ever come true. Then, my brother started to recover, and God let us think everything would be all right. He let us think that the bones would heal, and that our dream was still possible. But then God let a bump grow right in the midst of it all—a tumor God had been hiding from us—on the left side of his brain. Soon he’ll have to go into the hospital, get sliced open, have metal replace bone. Why would He put us through all this just to make my brother suffer more? Why would He wait to take him now? God had His chance to take my brother in that car accident. God can’t change His mind now.

Though this is obviously a difficult situation, it assumes a certain way of understanding God’s presence. God is not only a sovereign God who “lets” things happen, but he is also a God who is present and with us when things happen. How might that story read differently if instead of seeing God as letting everything occur, God was present during this difficult time?

I have a twin brother. Two weeks after I left for college, God was with me when I almost lost him. God was with us when his car spun out onto the highway, right into a tractor trailer. My brother laid there in the car, trapped under the trailer, crumpled up like a piece of paper, for an hour. God was with us when my parents wondered if they still had two children. That made me regret leaving for college, leaving my family. God was with us when my brother went through surgeries, tests, scans, pills, and hospitals. God was with us as we wondered if our dream of opening a theater would ever come true. Then, my brother started to recover, and God was with us when we thought everything would be all right. He was with us when we thought that the bones would heal, and that our dream was still possible. But then God was with us when a bump grew right in the midst of it all—a tumor had been hiding from us—on the left side of his brain. Soon he’ll have to go into the hospital, get sliced open, have metal replace bone. Will God still be with us if he doesn’t make it?

By speaking of God as present in the midst of this difficult time of suffering, we are acknowledging that Good Friday actually occurred. God himself did not spare his own life when he was crucified on the cross. He is not a distant God who removes himself from pain and suffering, but he is close, so close that he weeps when we weep and cry when we cry. There is no pain in this world that God himself has not endured. And yet he has defeated death in his resurrection. It is in that resurrection that we hope to see the day when pain and suffering are no more, when we will be with the one who has endured all pain and all suffering.