{"id":149,"date":"2010-09-29T11:40:31","date_gmt":"2010-09-29T15:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/askandy.fbclafayette.org\/?p=149"},"modified":"2014-07-25T13:41:37","modified_gmt":"2014-07-25T17:41:37","slug":"where-is-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/where-is-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Where is God?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Yes,\u00a0 a few years ago everyone was looking for Nemo, the little lost clown\u00a0fish.\u00a0 We aren&#8217;t talking about\u00a0Nemo, or a person who is lost.\u00a0 \u00a0We are talking about a much\u00a0bigger question.<\/p>\n<p>Have you ever gotten to the point where you\u00a0questioned if God is there?\u00a0 Whether you thought it or said it, you got so disgusted with your life &#8212; the broken bone that knocked you out of your sports season; the disease you realized you had when you thought you just had a cold; the way you feel\u00a0when your parents don&#8217;t understand, not to mention the poor grade you got on your Geometry test that you studied for\u00a0forever &#8212; your perplexed condition brought you to the point of saying &#8220;Where is God anyway?&#8221;<\/p>\n<iframe width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DnDX05HLQdM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>You are not the first one to ask that question.\u00a0 Many before you, even those who are listed in the Bible as men and women of great faith, and those who oppose God, were found to be asking that same question during great stress, pain, and hardship.\u00a0 Look for yourself\u00a0in the setting and story of these verses in the Bible: 2 Kings 2:14; Psalm 42:3; Jeremiah 2:6; Micah 7:10; John 8:19.<\/p>\n<p>You may be asking this question out of disgust because you don&#8217;t believe in God anyway.\u00a0\u00a0Or you\u00a0may be asking this question because you deeply love God, but your struggle has become bigger to you than your God.\u00a0 Your struggle and hurt now consumes your vision and blocks your view of God, instead of God being your focus and your hurt and pain being the instruments in the Creator&#8217;s hands to make you what He wants\u00a0you to be &#8212; conformed to the image of His Son.\u00a0\u00a0 Therefore, you cry out, or quietly mumble, \u00a0&#8220;God, Where are you?&#8221;\u00a0 or, &#8220;God, why have you forsaken me?&#8221;\u00a0 Familiar, huh?\u00a0\u00a0Yes, Jesus, God&#8217;s own\u00a0Son, God in the flesh, said these words while on the cross &#8211; not because of doubt of God&#8217;s existence, but because of the extent of His\u00a0physical and spiritual pain (Matt.27:46).<\/p>\n<p>God is always there!\u00a0 God is in all places and sees all things.\u00a0 God is with you.\u00a0\u00a0One of\u00a0the names of\u00a0Jesus\u00a0is Emmanuel, &#8220;God with us&#8221; (2 Chronicles 16:9; Proverbs 15:3;\u00a0 Psalm 33:18; Isaiah 7:14).<\/p>\n<p>To take it a step farther, no one can escape or hide from God&#8217;s presence.\u00a0 And, like the sun on cloudy day, you may not feel or see the sun, but it&#8217;s there.\u00a0 You may not feel or see God, but He is there (Psalm 139; Lamentations 3:22-23).<\/p>\n<p>I hope you choose to live in light of, and be\u00a0focused on, the reality of God&#8217;s existence and presence both today and with all the remaining days on earth God gives you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Where is God?  Some argue His existence.  Some believe it, but question it in difficulty.  This post should help assure you of the truths of His existence and presence.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[26],"tags":[196,198,195,194,25,197,200,42,199,100,93],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.14 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Where is God? - 4:Twelve - Student Ministries Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/where-is-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Where is God? - 4:Twelve - Student Ministries Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Where is God? Some argue His existence. Some believe it, but question it in difficulty. This post should help assure you of the truths of His existence and presence.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/where-is-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"4:Twelve - Student Ministries Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-07-25T17:41:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andy Woodall\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andy Woodall\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/where-is-god\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/where-is-god\/\",\"name\":\"Where is God? - 4:Twelve - Student Ministries Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-07-25T17:41:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/#\/schema\/person\/934f220fcc7b6a9f8a564375a78be9e4\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/where-is-god\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/where-is-god\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/where-is-god\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Where is God?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/\",\"name\":\"4:Twelve - Student Ministries Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/#\/schema\/person\/934f220fcc7b6a9f8a564375a78be9e4\",\"name\":\"Andy Woodall\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc8653df8e98ee5a0c504265c77ef0c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc8653df8e98ee5a0c504265c77ef0c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Andy Woodall\"},\"description\":\"Andy Woodall served as the Pastor of Student Ministries at Faith from 1999-2012.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/askandy.fbclafayette.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/author\/awoodall\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Where is God? - 4:Twelve - Student Ministries Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/where-is-god\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Where is God? - 4:Twelve - Student Ministries Blog","og_description":"Where is God? Some argue His existence. Some believe it, but question it in difficulty. This post should help assure you of the truths of His existence and presence.","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/where-is-god\/","og_site_name":"4:Twelve - Student Ministries Blog","article_published_time":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-07-25T17:41:37+00:00","author":"Andy Woodall","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andy Woodall","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/where-is-god\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/where-is-god\/","name":"Where is God? - 4:Twelve - Student Ministries Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/#website"},"datePublished":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2014-07-25T17:41:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/#\/schema\/person\/934f220fcc7b6a9f8a564375a78be9e4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/where-is-god\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/where-is-god\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/where-is-god\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Where is God?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/","name":"4:Twelve - Student Ministries Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/#\/schema\/person\/934f220fcc7b6a9f8a564375a78be9e4","name":"Andy Woodall","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc8653df8e98ee5a0c504265c77ef0c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc8653df8e98ee5a0c504265c77ef0c9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Andy Woodall"},"description":"Andy Woodall served as the Pastor of Student Ministries at Faith from 1999-2012.","sameAs":["http:\/\/askandy.fbclafayette.org"],"url":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/author\/awoodall\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":455,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149\/revisions\/455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/4twelve\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}