Where is He?

In her book, The Hiding Place, Corie Tenboom describes the irritation of lice in the women’s quarters. The women slept on straw-covered boards, several dozen to a ‘layer.” There were several layers of beds. The lice made them itch, of course and they detested them. She managed to smuggle a New Testament scripture into the camp with her and, at night, before lights out, she read portions to the women around her. Tis brought great comfort to her and many others. One day she realized that she still had the scripture portion because of the lice. The guards, afraid of catching the lice, avoided going into the barracks to search for contraband. In the irritation of lice, her scriptures were preserved for her comfort. We all have lice in our lives; not the physical insects, usually, but something that is an irritation or perhaps even a larger issue: pain, loss, loneliness, tragedy. I chafe and gripe and mutter under my breath, though these never provide relief. I’m not even sure why I do them, except, perhaps, long-standing habit. But, occasionally, I remember something I learned some years ago when going through the dissolution of the home church to which I then belonged. It is this: Rather than asking “where is God?” ask, “where is God in this?” Perhaps it is too subtle a difference, but the real answer to the question "Where is He in this?" is not to know the answer, but to know that He is truly in this very circumstance whether I understand how or not. It is like Jesus' statement to Thomas: "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." When I can truly say, "He is in this," I don't need to know how He is in it; I need only know that one fact. Perhaps I shall never know how He is, but I can say with confidence, "You are in this" and "He is in this." Perhaps my favorite scripture is the final word on this: "Of Him, to Him, through Him, are all things." I find more and more that this one verse is the center of all scripture and His relationship to all that is. If we can come to any circumstance, whether it feels bad or good; whether it is comfortable or uncomfortable; painful or pleasing with the utter conviction that He is in it, then we can say, with Paul, "In all things give thanks," and "I am content." 3/18/10