Where is God when bad things happen?

That has always been a dreaded question for me...the question asked by so many when they are walking in the valley with the shadow of death, doubt, and fear cast over them. It’s also a question that I am no stranger to asking.

It’s not so much a question that shows little faith. On the contrary, it is a question that reassures us faith exists. It is a question that helps us get through this endless quest for the Holy and how the Holy is living and moving in our lives.

It is a question that has been asked in Texas and Florida and The Caribbean.

This morning we woke to the news of the earthquake in Mexico City and the resulting images are heartbreaking. I had NPR on the radio this morning and a journalist was telling her story that as she ran from her building she found herself and others in the streets waiting for the ground to stop shaking. After it stopped people that were not injured began to remove debris from fully collapsed buildings...using plastic pails and whatever could be found to rescue survivors trapped beneath rubble.

When bad things happen we see so many people helping - reaching out - showing the best of who we are.

People will tell you that God is with you, in the good and the bad. Those words are not just reassuring, but they are true. Sometimes, though, we need to hear them again and again. God is with us...always. Perhaps that is what Mr. Rogers’ mom had in mind when she answered a similar question for her son Fred:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

There is power in those words, the prophetic words of a face and voice from so many children’s memories...mine included.

So as time moves forward, as it does, look for the helpers in what seems hopeless. Perhaps you have once or will one day need a helper. Perhaps you have or will one day be the helper. No matter what, always remember that in it and around it is God.

He continues, “if you look for the helpers you know there will be hope.”

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Jason