Where Are You, God?

“O God, you are my God.
At dawn I search for you.
My soul thirsts for you.
My body longs for you in a dry, 
parched land where there is no water.”
Psalm 63:1

I write this sitting in my clean, comfortable hotel room looking out of my 25th floor
hotel room in the heart of New York City. I was here to give personal testimony of
the realities I have experienced in the Sahara Desert, living with the Saharawi
refugees. They have been there since their homeland was militarily invaded by
Moroccan forces decades ago. Mothers, children, grandparents fled under brutal
military aggression as their ancient homeland of Western Sahara was being
invaded from North and South. With the Atlantic to the west, there was nowhere to
run except into the harsh Sahara Desert on their eastern border. Fathers,
grandfathers and sons suddenly became soldiers, desperatly defending their
homeland.

Having spent significant time in the Desert with my Saharawi “family”, I have only
tasted a bit of what it is to live in a “dry, parched land where there is no water.”
David lived that reality, as a refugee himself from his homeland of Israel and the
King who wanted him dead.

When life takes a turn, and you experience great loss, great betrayal, there is only
One place to run. Although we may find some escape and relief in our personal
world, it can only be temporary. We read of how David had known and followed
God since he was a boy. He had experienced the Power of God, the Protection
and Peace of God, and the Love of God. Yet, he had those Seasons in life that
were painful, frightening, and dangerous. He experienced a sense of questioning
where God was…

Having known God’s Presence, he knew what it was to be away from Him. We all
have those times of realizing that sense of distance from God. But David knew
what he needed to do. He was the one who had moved away from God and let
things of this world fill his mind, life, and soul.

God was still there. Waiting for David. He is waiting for us. Ready to help. Ready
to pull us back to Himself. . . into His Mighty, Safe Arms…holding us near to His
Heart with Forgiveness and always Love, it is we who need to return.