I cannot tell you how
many times I have heard people say “how can there be a God when people are
dying in war and children are being abused? If God is as great as you say He
is, then He would not allow this.” It is a constant statement people use when
they disagree with the existence of God. Just this past few weeks, I saw many
messages on social media showing a photo or video of tragedy, and the people
who posted them saying, “this tragedy is the reason I continue to doubt God.” Me,
being the girl who loves God, was taken back and saddened by these statements.
But then I realized something. The people who are saying God cannot be possible
because of the tragedies that exist today, are the same people who are turning
their backs on the tragedies as well instead of taking action.
The first day of
freshman orientation at my University, a priest went on stage and said,
“Tragedy is all over the world. It is at home and it is 12 hours away. How
could this brilliant God who is loving allow this to happen?” After he asked us
this question, the room was silent. 200 college kids sat in a room so silent
you could hear the person next to you breathing. We did not know the answer,
and we all knew he was not about to tell us the answer either. Instead, he told
us that throughout the next four years, sometime during this time, he hopes we
find the answer ourselves. And although it is only the second year of college
for me, I believe I may have figured out my answer to that question.
Tragedy happens
because we allow it. We could easily turn to God and ask why He will not do
anything when a child is hungry. Why won’t He help the family who doesn’t have
any money? Why does He allow acts of terror? But He could easily turn around
and ask “Why haven’t you done anything?” You see, we were made in God’s image. God
knows what we need and He has supplied those needs in the form of another
person. People help people. We are capable of everything God allows us to be
capable with. If He could change the world, and we all know God can do all
things, then He could do it by using a human to complete His work.
You ask God why He is
not doing anything to stop the heartbroken from feeling pain, but He did. He
created you. We are all His children and just like a sister should help out her
brother, we should help out one another. Even if we are not in a position to do
so financially, we can do so emotionally and morally. We can be the shoulder to
cry on when someone is in pain. We can address issues happening around the
world and let those people know, we see you. We are here for you. We stand with
you. Someone may have abandoned you but it is not, and will not, be us. We can
see a child in need of something to eat and we can buy them food. We can see a
woman being harassed and we can stick up for her. We can see a man depressed
and let them know we don’t know what they are going through. We cannot relate,
but we are here for him, and that there is help available out there.
Yes, God is powerful.
God is nothing but good and evil belongs to the enemy. But God also made us to
fight for one another. We represent Him. And right now we are doing a terrible
job. But if we realize what we are capable when God is our power source. We can
understand that we can do anything all things through Christ because He gives
us the strength to do so. The people who doubt with the excuse that tragedy
exists are the same people who do not stand up to tragedy. God made me, so I
could do great things in His honor, and that includes standing up for the other
creatures and humans He has created.
