God is Still Here

When tragedies like today happen, we often ask, "Where is God?" There's also the question, "Why would God allow this to happen to these children?"  Many people speculate and even pretend to know exactly why God allows these horrible evils to happen.

Today, Reverend Mike Huckabee professed to know why this happened, "We ask why there is violence in our schools, but we have systematically removed God from our schools.  Should we be so surprised that schools would become a place of carnage?  We don't have a crime problem, a gun problem, or even a violence problem.  What we have is a sin problem. And since we've ordered God out of our schools, and communities, the military, and public conversations, you know we really shouldn't act so surprised...when all hell breaks loose."

I have a problem with that line of thinking.  How small is "Rev." Huckabee's God that simply removing required prayer from schools prevents God from even showing up?  How big of "Rev" Huckabee to think that we, mere mortals subjected only to God's desire, have the ability, authority, or even the power to keep God out of anywhere.

God is said to be be a lot of things but the most powerful is His ability to be omnipresent.  That means He is everywhere all the time.  That's one of the powers of being God.  Don't believe me?  Let's look at Scripture:

Jeremiah 23:24: Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord.  Do I not fill Heaven and Earth? declares the Lord.

Proverbs 15:3: The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. (notice it doesn't say 'prevent the evil')

Matthew 18:20: For where two or three are gathered in my name, "there am I among them."

Job 34:21: "For His eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps."

Scripture tells us that regardless of what evil or good exist in a place, God is there.  God is watching.  God is knowing.  God is faithful. There's nothing we can do that can force God out of anywhere.

2 Timothy 2:13: If we are faithless, he remains faithful--for he cannot deny himself.

Lamentations 3:22: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.

I'm not going to debate if it was right or wrong to remove teacher/administrative sanctioned prayer from our schools.  I believe in prayer.  I also believe in the fact that God is always with me, even when I am not in communication with Him, when I'm doing things He does not agree with, things that do not further the Kingdom of God.  His Word tells me I am never alone.  I will never be forsaken.  When the Lord says he will not forsake you, He means never.  He doesn't say, "forsake me and you're on your own."  He simply says, Deuteronomy 31:6: Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you, he will never leave you nor forsake you.

While teacher/administrative sanctioned prayer has been declared unconstitutional, students are allowed to come together to pray.  The middle school right behind my house has "Meet Me At the Pole" daily from 7:40 am until class starts at 7:50 am.  The school not only provides a place but it also addresses the daily prayer group on the school calender to inform parents that from this time, your child is welcome to come to the flag pole and start his/her day in prayer.  Students gather there daily.  I'm not taking one or two students.  I'm talking many.  Each Friday night after football games it is not uncommon to see students from both schools/teams congregating to the center of the field to pray.  Schools have Bible clubs, Fellowship of Christian Athletes clubs, and other ways in which to allow child believers to come together in fellowship.

And, if you allow me a little bit of comic relief, as long as there are tests and report cards in school, there will be prayer in school.

What I'm getting at is this: you cannot say that just because the United States Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to have compelled prayer in schools that God is not there.  The case was brought not by an atheist but by a Jewish man who did not want his child to be compelled to pray Christian prayers.  This religious man, and his children, have what we Christians have and hold dear: Freedom OF Religion.  He simply did not feel that his child should be compelled to recite a Christian prayer.  He was every bit as entitled to that opinion and belief as we Christians are that prayer should be recited.

Jews are a very spiritual people.  They pray more times a day than many Christians.  Much like Islamic followers, Jewish followers have specific prayers for specific times of the day.  As Christians we have become such a closed-minded society.  We cannot agree to live and let live, to allow for Jewish children, Hindu children, Islamic children, or children of other faiths to pray their particular prayers in school.  Shoot, most Christians after seeing men using prayer rugs in an airport will most often run to report them as "suspicious." But yet we want to complain that no one prays anymore.  Would we, as Christians, if we were in the minority, have done the same thing to prevent our children from being compelled to pray to a certain god or gods?

We can't have it both ways, Church.  We can't.  All of us are on a path that we feel is right for us.  We are on our own cosmic journeys to personal relationships with a "higher power."  For me that higher power is God and I believe the only way I can spend eternity with Him is through the acceptance that He sent His Son to die for my sins, that His Son rose three days later, and will come again.  That's how I know I'm saved.

I may not always act like I'm saved:  I curse.  I don't go to church every.single.time.the.door.is.open.  I am hypocritical and judgmental.  I'm not perfect but I know that God's Word is true and it always will be.

The events in Newtown, CT did not happen because we don't have sanctioned prayer in school.  The terror today came because part of living, even living for Christ, is that evil things happen.  For it is not for us mortals to understand why these things happen.  We are not guaranteed these things will never happen.  In fact, we are told the exact opposite: John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy.  I came so that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Does the Lord like our wicked ways?  No.  Does He love us in spite of those wicked ways?  Yes.  Does that mean that we can continue to be wicked and still enter the Kingdom of God? No.  But just because the wicked may never enter the Kingdom of God, doesn't mean that God is not present.

I often wonder what if Jesus came back right now---right this very second and saw how we mortals are preaching His teachings what he would think.  How we are advancing His cause.  Would he be sickened at the sight of us?  Would He be angry?  Would He appreciate us putting His Father, OUR Father, in such a small box as to think that God would leave us simply because the ability to pray in a school house is different than what we believe it should be?

To think that God is not big enough and that He was not present today in that school as those tiny precious children were murdered is so small-minded that I cannot even grasp the entire absurdity of it.  I know that God was there as each child and adult was killed.  Even the killer.  I know that each of those children and adults were welcomed into His arms. Those who were fortunate enough to survive didn't just have police and teacher escorts out of the building today.  God was there.  God shielded every single person in that school today.  Every.single.one.  Even those who died.

God did not promise us that we would live forever here on this planet we call Earth.  He did not promise that  we would never face evil and that tragedy would never strike.  We have not been promised a life of sunshine and roses.  If we read God's Word and if we communicate with Him, we will possess enough understanding of why things happen to get us through.  Do you know how I know this? Because my Bible tells me so:

Psalms 30:5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but joy comes in the morning.