Some may ask the question ”Where is God” in retrospect to some cataclysmic disaster or calamity of which I have already written about in respect to the subject of evil in association with pain and suffering.
jesusandjews.com/wordpress/2009/05/17/pain-suffering-and-evil/
Others may view this matter in regards to the ontology of God which deals with His nature as pure being. This views depicts God as omnipresent with a disembodied spirit in which He is everywhere and is not subjected to the same limitations we have to time and space. This isn’t to be confused with the belief of pantheism which sees divinity as a part of the whole universe but rather God necessarily exists as a separate and distinct being apart from the contingency of naturalistic or physical objects. He fills the world with His presence but in essence He is not the world.
I think more specifically what people are really wanting to know in regards to this question is does God really exist and is He a personal being? This matter can be approached philosophically but for the sake of practically I am discussing this matter from a experiential level.
To begin there are several different ways in which God reveals Himself of which the first or primary one is universal or general in that God makes Himself know to all through the created order of the universe and also through a rational moral conscious.
Romans 1: 18-20
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Psalms 19:1-4
1The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
3There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
4Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
Romans 2:14-16
14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
Secondly there are those unique moments or less conventional methods in which there are special revelations as seen through a physical manifestation of God such as with an epiphany and this is something I have experienced once in a dream when I was a young child and others have also witnessed through their dreams. This phenomena of dreams is so powerful that religious Muslims have to come to faith in Jesus as a result of these dynamic encounters.
Also I had a Jewish friend who wanted nothing to do with Jesus but in the final months of her life she actually had several visitations while she was in the hospital.
jesusandjews.com/wordpress/a-testimony-from-a-jewish-friend/
There have also been people who have experienced heaven and hell when undergoing a near death experience in which God was revealed to them as explained by a medical doctor in this video.
Additionally I have two close friends who had a NDE and described to me this very reality.
Finally there is another method of which God openly reveals Himself and that is through the person of Jesus Christ who is confirmed in the lives of His covenant people the church and Christians from all walks of life have a personal testimony which affirms their belief rather than mindlessly announcing and accepting some religious creed. I am including the testimonies of my family along with others which helps to establish the credibility of this claim.
jesusandjews.com/wordpress/my-personal-testimony-with-jesus/
jesusandjews.com/wordpress/my-wifes-personal-testimony-of-jesus/
www.cbn.com/700club/features/Amazing/
Another testable way in which Jesus is substantiated and that is through the witness of prophecy of which God does nothing with out first revealing it to His prophets. The works of Jesus as found in the bible were spoken hundreds of years before He tread the sole of His foot on Israeli soil. What is interesting is that some of these scriptures could not be manipulated to be self fulfilling as these texts though congruent do not coincide as being simultaneous in time. Therefore the nature of His life and death including His healing and miracles could not be fabricated to fit His life story. So God uses the reasoning and intellect of prophetic revelation to help establish and confirm Jesus’ identity as divine apart from mere proclamation. So this isn’t just about some abstract concept of a mysterious faith but there is some concrete evidence which testifies to the reality of belief.
www.bibleprobe.com/365messianicprophecies.htm
Again Jesus did nothing in a corner and His miracles were evidenced by many but not always received and therefore the skeptics of that day are like some of the scientists of our age who were never converted but were always looking for new signs or explanations never being convinced by the empirical evidence they already had. Amazingly enough even ancient Jewish writings as found in the Talmud which is not sympathetic towards the historical Jesus gives Him credit for these undeniable acts even though they wrongly identify His inspiration as being under the control of sorcery.
Another matter when referring to the question about God displaying Himself it is not done in a way so as to merely satisfy our curiosity but He generally reveals Himself more specifically for a purpose so as to accept and receive Him. This partial hiddenness of God is His prerogative and if you are acquainted with the gospel narratives of Jesus He spoke many times in parables which depicted a story that had a spiritual reality taken from a familiar or natural truth or setting and this was His chief way of teaching or communicating divine revelation regarding the illumination of His gospel and at the same time it served the purpose of concealing the message from the unbeliever.
In the same way that this message of truth was relayed by Jesus is very similar to how God reveals Himself which is mostly by being intuitively receptive to these various revelations in discerning the mysteries of His kingdom which otherwise would land on deaf ears. This is accomplished as we are divinely enabled by God to respond to His revelation through the eyes of faith by means of His own direct intervention as is symbolic of Peters famous confession “Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God” in which Jesus responded “that flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father who art in heaven.” This is characteristic of God who exposes Himself by drawing us to Him through the convincing and convicting work of the Holy Spirit to facilitate belief apart from our own initiative.
Now regarding other corporate demonstrations from God another biblical example is when the children of Israel saw the miracles of Egypt and the providential care of God during their wilderness journey but nevertheless were given over to complaining and idolatry. This great exodus of people who originally came out of the land of Egypt never laid hold of the promises of God in the Holy land except for 2 members of this vast community. This is also true today as witnessed through the rebirth of modern Israel which is the fulfillment of the ancient vision of the dry bones of which Ezekiel saw and is now starting to come to pass through contemporary miraculous intervention of which ironically many of the people who have heard these stories continue to be secular. Thus “seeing” is not always “believing” and therefore does not necessitate faith by following after God.
www.bibleprobe.com/angelinlebanon.htm
In closing it could be that your questioning about “Where is God” is coming from a defiant attitude towards Him in demanding a “show and tell” appearance as a smokescreen to somehow justify your unbelief? After all if God were to succumb to your appeal and appear to you today would you honestly be willing or prepared to accept Him as Lord and Savior? An honest answer towards your motivation may reveal the truth about why you think it is necessary for God to meet your requirements or expectations and in turn this may be the very hindrance which has kept you from knowing Him in a very real and personal way. The problem isn’t so much with our ability to be able to see and know because God is talking and revealing to some degree therefore the question is are we tuned in or are we listening to the static of anti-god rhetoric or being influenced by our societal or personal presuppositions and biased beliefs which interfere with a clean receptivity to the message?
If we were as attentive to God as we were to looking for Waldo when we were kids it wouldn’t be that difficult to find God. Like Waldo He’s in the picture it just were not interested in discovering Him.
Lastly If you are not ready to make a commitment to God today then would you at least consider the probabilities of my statements and be willing to investigate more according to some of the previous blogs which I have wrote?
In conclusion God has revealed Himself rationally through nature, conscious, fulfilled prophecy and also experientially through the supernatural realms of modern day healings, miracles, visions and dreams yet more importantly or precisely He has made Himself known personally and intimately through Jesus who became flesh and dwelt among us who in turn has given the comforter or the Holy Spirit to indwell those who believe. So what more can we ask for besides just being directly translated to heaven?
Finally I would encourage you to pray in your own simple words for God to open you heart and reveal to you His truth concerning the person and work of Jesus Christ.
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