Where Was God?

“Where was God when... (enter catastrophic event here)?” 

 This question says as much as it asks. It suggests that the god who canprevent something awful, willalways do so. This question is often asked critically to prove god is either incapable and/or unwilling to prevent evil. This, of course, calls into question the worship, obedience, and trust in such a god. But, notice the change in tone when we ask one another the same kind of question. “Where were you when JFK was assassinated?” or “Where were you on 9/11?”We do not expect fellow finite beings to have been present, much less to have had the means by which to foil these evil-doers’ plans.God is not let off the hook so easily; we tend to expect more of Him. But His power and His concern are not so easily disproven. According to Scripture, God is simultaneously transcendent and imminent. That is, He is above all and yet near, enthroned in heaven (Psalm 2:4) while remaining providentially involved in the smallest details of human life (Col. 1:17).