Where is God?

By Din Duggan

These are challenging times - from which none of us is immune. There is less food on many tables. The epidemic of cancer continues to ravage lives. Criminality is rampant. On Monday morning, I was greeted on Facebook by condolences for Rohan Johnson, a LIME employee slain on the job in Spanish Town. Moments later, a friend told me that her colleague and friend, Sean Wilson, had been killed while standing at a bus stop on Washington Boulevard. Why? Where was God? I'm no theologian - just a regular, ol' sinner - but I've been pondering the question.

Khajeel Mais

Khajeel Mais' family might have questioned God after their brother and son was senselessly murdered. The 17-year-old was killed when a lunatic - allegedly angered by a taxi colliding with his BMW X6 - fired at the cab, striking Khajeel. The alleged lunatic - Patrick Powell - was recently granted bail.

The defence appears to be developing the preposterous theory that the victim is to blame. But in Jamaica, where the wealthy secure a better standard of justice and dead men tell no tales, we may begin to hear that the Kingston College student was responsible for his own murder. Where is God to prevent injustice?

A Little Girl

Taxi driver Garsha Wilson raped, strangled and buried a 12-year-old girl, then pretended to help her mother search for her. The girl regained consciousness, though, and freed herself from her shallow grave. Wilson pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years - the maximum allowed under current guidelines. The little girl is scarred for life. The rapist will probably be free in a decade. Where is our omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God of love to prevent barbarism?

The truth is, faith in God is not a bullet-proof vest protecting us from sorrow. None of us is too good to experience calamity. There is no such thing as a 'good person' in God's sight - "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). We are all, by nature, subject to sin and its consequences.

Our trials bring us closer to God. We are instructed to "consider it pure joy ... whenever we face trials of many kinds" (James 1:2-3). Through them, we are purified like gold in fire (1 Peter 1:7). Even death - after we endure it - is swallowed up in victory and forever loses its sting (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). Those who are left to mourn are blessed and comforted by God (Matthew 5:4).

We can't fully know God's works. "Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, why hast Thou made me thus?" (Romans 9:20) Our ignorance is reminiscent of Isaac Newton, who likened his illustrious life to a boy playing with pebbles on a seashore, while the great ocean of truth lay undiscovered before him.

Latoya Lawes

I originally intended to discuss Latoya Lawes' journey - how two years ago, then 25-year-old Latoya noticed a growth on her leg. I was to describe how the growth turned out to be synovial sarcoma - a type of cancer.

I would have discussed her brush with death, the amputation, and the aggressive rounds of chemotherapy she endured. I would have told of her doctors' optimism that the cancer was completely gone, but how, in September, it returned to her lungs, liver, and ribs. I would have appealed for contributions for an innovative but expensive life-saving treatment - Terabectedin.

But all that is moot, now. Last week, doctors told Latoya the treatment would not work as her cancer was too advanced. Where is God to prevent heartache?

Ironically, Latoya has never questioned her fate. She is prepared to meet her maker. Her faith is strong, its purity unquestionable.

As he hung, dying on the cross, Jesus exclaimed: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" (Matt 27:46) But, of course, He was not forsaken. God was within Him. Just as He is within Latoya - propelling her faith. It is not for us to know all His ways. We are simply commanded to be still and know that He is God.

In Latoya's faith, our answer is unveiled. The God of Jacob and 12-year-old girls, the God of Khajeel and Sean and Rohan, the God of Latoya and her two-year-old daughter is our fortress and our ever-present help in trouble (Ps. 46). He is right here. He will never leave or forsake us.

Din Duggan is an attorney working as a consultant with a global legal search firm. Email him at columns@gleanerjm.com or dinduggan@gmail.com or view his past columns at facebook.com/dinduggan and twitter.com/YoungDuggan.