Where Was God?

This is a question that I get asked quite frequently. Weekly and sometimes daily. Where was God when: 9/11 happened? Where was He during the holocaust? How about all of the school shootings? How come God always seemed to be absent during these situations? These are the questions that I am asked. Even as a pastor, I don't have all the answers, but I can turn to God's word to find them. I like the verses in Isaiah 65: 1-3. Isaiah 65 New Living Translation (NLT) Judgment and Final Salvation 65 The Lord says, “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help. I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’ to a nation that did not call on my name.[a] 2 All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people.[b] But they follow their own evil paths and their own crooked schemes. 3 All day long they insult me to my face by worshiping idols in their sacred gardens. They burn incense on pagan altars. We as a nation can not take Him for granted. It says right there in His word that He was ready to respond but nobody asked. We don't call on Him anymore. We have an attitude that we can do it on our own. Wrong answer! We are a rebellious, evil nation.We are headed for self destruction. We insult God to His face, and then wonder why He doesn't protect us when tragedy strikes. We took God out of our schools and look what is happening.We are trying to remove him from everything. From placing your hand on the Bible in court, to trying to take His name off of our money. We are even trying to remove His name from Christmas and start saying "happy holiday's". He is there for us. All of us. He loves us. All we have to do is seek Him.He is standing there with His arms open saying "here I am, come to me." I don't know about you, but I can't do this thing called life on my own. I need and depend on JESUS. He is my rock, my stength and comfort. He is my healer and my deliverer. All praise and glory to God!