The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was one of Gordon Lightfoot’s biggest hits. It is a ballad about the sinking of a Great Lakes freighter sung in his engaging baritone. I heard it recently and was struck by this line: “’Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?’ I was reminded of this line last week when Hurricane Ian brought devastation to Southwest Florida.
A talking head on the Weather Channel said that the island of Sanibel essentially experienced a strong tornado for several hours. The stories and images coming out of Sanibel are heart-breaking. While I was not a frequent visitor to the island, I did spend some time there as a child and Michele and I celebrated an anniversary there several years ago. It is a wonderful place.
Having lived through a direct hit from Hurricane Andrew and having experienced other storms to varying degrees, as well as having served onboard ships during heavy weather, the line from the song resonates with me. I can only imagine those who stayed on Sanibel during the storm felt that the minutes became hours as they were relentlessly pounded by wind, surging water, and rain. I am certain the men on the Edmund Fitzgerald and many other doomed ships felt the same agony. Events like fatal hurricanes and shipwrecks raise the age-old question, where was God? If He is a God of love, where is His love during the storm?
Many books have been written on this subject, many sermons preached, many discussions and even arguments held which likely left people unsatisfied and perhaps ended friendships. It would be foolish to think that a blog post could provide the answers and comfort that people seek yet the question remains: “’Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?’ I do, in fact, know the answer to this question.
God’s love does not go anywhere. It is not a commodity to be given or withheld. It is not a feeling of His that is dependent upon whether we are behaving at a particular time or not. His love is not capricious, shallow, or fleeting. God’s very essence is love meaning His love is constant and unending. His love was there for the men on the Edmund Fitzgerald; His love was there for the people in the eye-wall of Hurricane Ian; His love is there for each of us going the storms of life. The problem is that we do not recognize it and trust Him in the storms.
This begs the question of why God allows the storms to begin with, perhaps even sends the storms. It is asked throughout Scripture; it is the question everyone has when hardships come. It is perhaps a` greater question than the one asked by Gordon Lightfoot – If God is a God of love, why did He allow this to happen?
Again, a blog post will not answer this question to anyone’s satisfaction. I know that most bad things happen because we live in a broken world. I know that some bad things happen because there are bad people who cause them to happen. I know that some things happen as a direct result of our actions for which there are consequences. I know hurricanes are formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa and some become massive storms that make landfall in the Western Hemisphere. I know that storms occur at sea, including the Great Lakes, that produce huge waves and sometimes overwhelm the strongest vessels. I know that some children become sick and die, that our beloved pets don’t live very long, that people drive drunk, that downsizings occur, that false accusations happen, and on and on. Bad things happen – why?
Nicholas Wolterstorff is a Christian philosopher who lost his son to a climbing accident. He wrote, “I cannot fit it all together by saying, ‘He [God] did it,’ but neither can I do so by saying, ‘There was nothing he could do about it.’ I cannot fit it together at all. I can only, with Job, endure. I do not know why God did not prevent Eric’s death. To live without the answer is precarious. It’s hard to keep one’s footing. I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and resurrector of Jesus Christ. I also believe that my son’s life was cut off in its prime. I cannot fit these pieces together. I am at a loss … To the most agonized question I have ever asked I do not know the answer. I do not know why God would watch him fall. I do not know why God would watch me wounded. I cannot even guess … My wound is an unanswered question.”
Throughout the Psalms the writers question God, yet they trust Him. In fact, in Psalm 46:1-3 we find these words:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.
God, who is the author of the changes in the earth, the mountains slipping into the sea, the roaring and foaming waters, and the quaking mountains, is actually a refuge and strength in these troubles. That seems counter-intuitive. How can the author of the trouble be the refuge for the trouble?
I believe God is good. In Exodus 34:6 we read, “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.’”
James 1:17 tells us, ‘Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Psalm 25:8 notes, “Good and upright is the Lord, therefore he instructs sinners in the way.”
Here we have an inkling of how the goodness of God allows badness in this world – He instructs sinners in the way. This means: 1) we are sinners; and 2) we have things to learn. He can teach us because of His goodness, but that likely involves suffering.
God does not derive pleasure from pain and injustice. He defends those who are oppressed. However, part of God’s judgment against sin involves allowing it to play out to its logical conclusion. God gives the human race over to the choices we make. Read Romans 1:18-32. It is an damning indictment of mankind and after reading it no one should be surprised that bad things happen in our world.
We want God to be our protector, our nanny, and make all the bad things go away. We don’t have that option in this broken world. The option we do have is to find refuge in God and to trust Him at all times, good and bad. We often wish that God would remove all the tragedy and suffering from our lives, all the risk and the heartache. He is going to do that for those that trust Him. The beautiful hymn proclaims, This World is not my Home. We will be restored to complete and perfect fellowship with God, IF we claim the grace He offers.
Despite this hope of a better world our hearts still cry out with hurt. Job, the epitome of a sufferer, was able to say in Job 1:21, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” When confronted by his wife after losing nearly everything he loved and everything he owned, then becoming ill, he said, “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10). Job recognized the reality of the world but he also recognized the character of God.
God owes us nothing yet He is willing to give us everything. We deserve judgement yet He offers grace. He became one of us and died to pay a price we could not pay.
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later. Romans 8:18
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
We must remember in the midst of the pain from our suffering and wounding that the One who still bears wounds bears them for us. He was wounded for our transgressions and by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5) In spite of your wounds and any anger and resentment you may feel, Christ died for you and that trumps your pain. That may sound harsh, but it is true.
Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours? Yes, Jesus said to those who believe, “I will be with you always.” (Matthew 28:20) Through the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer, we never go through one moment separated from the One who loves us. The love of God was present in creation, the love of God was present on the cross and in the empty tomb, the love of God was present at your birth, is present at your sufferings and your rejoicings, and will be present at your death. And if you claim that love and grace and believe that Jesus gave His life for yours, you will fully experience the overwhelming love of God in eternity. God is love in both the mighty waves and the sunlit seas.