Questions are an important part of everyday life. We learn by asking questions. The “Socratic method” of teaching involves a dialogue of questions and answers. And perhaps one of the most common questions is the simple question: “Where are you?”
Questions and Answers
When I retired at the end of 2024, I moved to Florida. For the first three months, I didn’t really go anywhere. I was happy to be in the sunshine after a lifetime of northern winters! But starting in April, I made a number of trips:
- Back to Michigan in April for district church meetings
- To Illinois for my wife’s meetings at our alma mater
- To Michigan to our summer cottage
- To New York City to help our daughter pack up and move
- To Alaska (with my son David) to help my daughter move to Anchorage
- Back home in June for a few weeks at the cottage
- Back to Alaska with my wife to retrieve my vehicle and drive it back to Michigan
Whew!
On our latest trip to Alaska, I took the picture at the beginning of this article. When I saw the sign giving the coordinates, I started thinking about the question, “Where are you?” If you type those coordinates into Google Maps, you find a location just south of Anchorage, in a town called Girdwood. As the sign notes, if you needed to notify 911 in an emergency, those coordinates would help them locate you quickly. But most of us don’t normally use latitude and longitude to explain our location!
As we made our way back through Western Canada, my wife posted numerous pictures on Facebook – beautiful scenery, or wildlife we spotted along the way. Many times, people asked “Where was this?” or some form of that question. “Where are you?”
Where are you?
It shouldn’t be surprising that Scripture also contains many instances of that same question, “Where are you?” In fact, it’s the first question that God asks, in Genesis 3:9 – “Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’’ Of course, God know where Adam and Eve were! He asked the question to highlight the fact that Adam and Eve were hiding from Him – something they had never done before. God used the question to make Adam and Eve acknowledge what they had done.
Where are You, God?
Many of the Psalms are cries to God for help – prayers that we can pray in times of trouble. The theme of those psalms – even if they don’t directly ask the question – is this: “Where are You, God?’
- Why do You stand far away, Lord? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? (Psalm 10:1)
- How long, Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long am I to feel anxious in my soul, with grief in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? (Psalm 13:1-2)
- Do not abandon me, Lord; My God, do not be far from me! Hurry to help me, Lord, my salvation! (Psalm 38:21-22)
- I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” (Psalm 42:9-10)
Most (but not all) of the lament psalms answer the question by reaffirming faith in God. For example, Psalm 42:11 closes that psalm with this declaration: Why are you in despair, my soul? And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him for the help of His presence, my God.
Psalm 27 proclaims our trust in God even when we may wonder where He is: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom should I dread? (27:1). Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord (27:14). Even when we don’t “see” Him, God is always there!
My God, why have You forsaken me?
Perhaps the most familiar psalm of lament is Psalm 22, which begins, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (22:1). That passage is familiar because Jesus Himself quotes it while on the cross (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). Did God “forsake” Jesus? Of course not! Even in the depths of His pain and anguish, as He took the sins of the world upon Himself, Jesus knew that God had not “forsaken” Him.
The context of Psalm 22 is important – and make no mistake, Jesus knew that context! Psalm 22 is not just a cry of despair at sensing God’s absence; it is also a declaration of God’s unquestionable goodness and faithfulness.
- Yet You are holy, You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You rescued them. To You they cried out and they fled to safety; in You they trusted and were not disappointed (Psalm 22:3-5, emphasis added).
- I will proclaim Your name to my brothers; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You (22:22).
- For He has not despised nor scorned the suffering of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from him; but when he cried to Him for help, He heard (22:24).
Where are You, God?
Psalm 22 – and Jesus’ recitation of it on the cross – reminds us that even when we feel like God is absent, He is with us! Even in despair, the psalmist declared God’s holiness and faithfulness. And the fact that Jesus experienced that despair – and the physical pain and human rejection that went along with it – also reminds us of God’s faithfulness. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need (Hebrews 4:15-16).
“Where are You, God?” He’s on the throne of the universe, where He’s always been! And He is present with us in the person of His Holy Spirit!!
Do you have comments or questions on this post? I’d love to hear them! Please keep comments respectful. I’ll try to respond to every comment and question. Thanks for reading!
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