where's God?

I haven't been blogging a lot lately because I've been running out of time in my days and weeks, but I'm hoping it'll ease up soon.

Just now I'm sitting down writing a sermon on a topic "where's God when the world suffers" which is quite a huge topic having puzzled folks for centuries, and I certainly have no exhaustive answer, but while preparing I ran into quite interesting specs.

One of them is the news concerning the New York Stock Exchange NYSE bought a european stock exchance company and together they'll form a new NYSE Euronext that will DAILY buy and sell stocks for 100 000 000 000. (hundred billion US$, not sure whether I put the zeros right)

I'm not really good at economics, but just for the sake of the sermon I searched around www and found that 2004 Tsunami recovery costs (which appear yet being on their way) are estimated to be 11,5billion US$ in total, which is 1/10 of one single day's money in NYSE Euronext. I don't wont to discourage anybody but the money will never reach the poor in Indian ocean area - they'll have to re-build the home from the garbage.

Right now Indonesia is suffering an another catastrophic earthquake in Java with 6000 kills, 50 000 injuries and 70 000 homes destroyed. I bet they'd do a lot with a 1/100 of one day's stock exchanges.

At the same time 250 000 000 kids die for diarrhea, while the needed medication is piled up in storages 6hours flight away.

I don't want to simplify the issue, but I really think the question would be "where are people when the world suffers." where am I? Where have you been?

Money is not he cure for all the worlds problems, and it won't bring happiness... but why then are we so attached to it? It would certainly ease the pain for the grandmom in the picture above, who lost the family and home in Java last Saturday.

Where 's God...? The book a Job 38-42 paints out that the question is off the track. Job faced the misfortune of life, but concluded that it would be insanity to take God to court over it. The almighty is not held accountable by us, but he grants us stuff in his wisdom, and will rightly be worshipped.

God is where he has always been, but are you and i where he wants us to be?