I Can’t See God

My middle son has had countless medical procedures and surgeries, and while none of them has been pleasant, he is an amazing testimony to human resilience. One of my favorite medical “memories” (if there is such a thing) revolves around an echocardiogram he had done around age 6. They printed off the ultrasound picture of his heart, and knowing he would think that was pretty cool, I presented it to him, saying, “Look bud, here’s a photo of your heart! No one else in our family has ever seen our heart before!”  After a few minutes of peering inquisitively at the picture, he looked up at me and responded with, “But I don’t see God!”

The headlines of the last couple of weeks provide a perfect backdrop for that statement: “I can’t see God”. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans are trying to flee the country before having to succumb to the atrocities of Taliban rule. Hundreds of Haitians are killed and tens of thousands injured or missing in a 7.2 earthquake that devastated the already struggling country. Covid numbers are on a dramatic rise due to the new delta variant.  

And sometimes we don’t see God in our own stories and journeys. When prayers go “unanswered “ and desires go “unmet”, where is the one who promises healing, hope, grace, and satisfaction, when we just can’t see Him at work?

I heard a great reply to this question on a podcast today.  When we can’t answer tough questions about the bad things we see all around us, we can respond with “I don’t know, BUT…”

So here’s what I DO KNOW:  I know that Elisha’s servant couldn’t see the angel armies that had surrounded the earthly army of Aram. But they were there. I know that Abraham never saw his descendants outnumber the stars in the sky. But here we are.  

I know that Jesus said I am more blessed for having believed when I have not seen, so when I don’t know what He is doing, I stick to what I know of His heart:  He loves the nations (Gen. 18:18), He desires everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), He reigns in majesty when all we see is chaos (Psalm 11:4). He is for us, He will glorify Himself through us, and He desires to use us to bring light to a very broken world.  

When I can’t see Him, I cling to His character and rest securely in all that I can see and in all that I know about Him to be true. And I pray to be His hands and feet so that someone else might get a glimpse of His great love.