Where not why

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The premature death of someone we love is one of the hardest griefs to bear. We are left with the haunting and unanswerable question ‘Why?’ It seems so unfair and makes no sense. How could a good God allow such a thing?

A while ago a friend of mine had to grapple with this question following the diagnosis of his terminal illness. His response to the ‘why me?’ question was to ask, ‘why not me?’ and to conclude that in this life we will never know. A better question he said, was to ask where God was. Throughout his illness he was able to see God’s hand in so many different ways from unexpected financial provision, the spontaneous visit of a friend and even somewhere to park near the hospital. As his life recently drew to a close, these signs of God’s presence reassured him that his trust in God was secure and that his hope for eternal life was certain.

My friend’s confidence in God is echoed many times in the Bible and not least in the famous words of Psalm 23:4 ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.’

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