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Where Was God?: Answers to Tough Questions about God and Natural Disasters
When natural disaster strikes, survivors and onlookers alike face questions about whether God is in control or how he could allow such tragedy to occur. Respected Bible teacher Erwin Lutzer offers answers about God's purposes, his goodness, and his ultimate plan. Without pretending to know the mind of God, Lutzer's answers assure the reader that God is still sovereign, and his plan is still best.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published September 22, 2006
18 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
Erwin W. Lutzer
165 books277 followersErwin W. Lutzer is senior pastor of The Moody Church in Chicago. A graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and Loyola University, he is the author of numerous books, including the Gold Medallion Award winner "Hitler's Cross" and the best seller "One Minute After You Die". He is also a teacher on radio programs heard on more than 700 stations throughout the United States and the world, including "Songs in the Night," "The Moody Church Hour," and the daily feature "Running to Win." He and his wife, Rebecca, live in the Chicago area and have three married children and seven grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 24, 2021
(NOTE: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book or a B. 3 stars means a very good book or a B+. 4 stars means an outstanding book or an A {only about 5% of the books I read merit 4 stars}. 5 stars means an all time favorite or an A+ {Only one of 400 or 500 books rates this!).
A great little book with lots of insight as suggested below:
1) Dare We Search For Answers?
Nature is cursed because man is cursed; natural evil - if we call it such - is therefore a reflection of moral evil, in that both are savage, ruthless and damaging. …
Nature is a mirror in which we see ourselves. (13)
When we look at Hurricane Katrina we should see a picture of the evil side of human nature - powerless, heartless, and randomly cruel. In an age that is indifferent to sin, natural disasters hold up a mirror that tells us what our sin looks like to God. Sin always leaves a trail of death and destruction with ongoing painful consequences. Both the physical world and mankind await a liberation that only God can bring about. (14)
Natural disasters do have an important message that we dare not ignore. (15)
2) Is God Responsible?
We must distinguish between the immediate cause of these events and their ultimate cause. The immediate cause of the lightning and the wind that killed Job’s children was the power of Satan. But follow carefully: It was God who gave Satan the power to wreak the havoc, and it was God who prescribed the limits of what Satan could or could not do. That is why Job, quite rightly, did not ascribe the death of his children to the devil but rather said, ’The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” (Job 1:21)
From a natural point of view, the immediate cause of an earthquake is a fault beneath the earth’s crust … The immediate causes of a tornado are unstable atmospheric conditions combined with warm, moist air. All of these weather patterns might or might not receive their impetus from Satan, yet we can be sure that the ultimate cause of these events is God. He either rules nature directly or through secondary causes, but either way, He is in charge. (30)
God has not relegated calamities to His hapless archival the devil without maintaining strict supervision and ultimate control of nature. No earthquake comes, no tornado rages, and no tsunami washes villages away, but that God signs off on it. (31)
First, many theologians who agree that God is in charge of nature emphasize that God does not ordain natural disasters but only permits them to happen. … However, keep in mind that the God who permits natural disasters to happen could choose to not permit them to happen. In the very act of allowing them, He demonstrates that they fall within the boundaries of His providence and will. …
Second - and this is important - God is sometimes pictured as being in control of nature, even without secondary causes. …
Third, if the heavens declare the glory of God, if it is true of nature, doesn’t it stand to reason that the calamities of nature, doesn’t it stand to reason that the calamities of nature also reveal something about His other attributes? … If nature is to give us a balanced picture of God, we must see His judgment, too. (30-311)
Who sent the flood during the time of Noah? God …
Who sent the plagues of Egypt? Who caused the sun to stand still so that Joshua could win a war? Who sealed the heavens during the time of Elijah and then brought rain in response to his prayer? Who sent the earthquake when the sons of Korah rebelled against Moses?
Can anyone say that God is not the ultimate cause of these disasters?
The biblical writer leaves no doubt as to who caused the storm that forced the sailors to throw Jonah overboard. (1:4) .. It appears that the Bible is not as concerned about God’s reputation as some theologians are. (32-33)
What do all these stories have in common? First, we notice that God is meticulously involved. … Second, these were, for the most part, acts of judgment. …
On the other hand, we should also note that in both the Old and New Testaments God sent an earthquake to help His people. (33)
Most important, if nature is out of God’s hands, then I am also out of God’s hands because I could be the victim of nature and thus die apart from His intentional will and purpose. (34)
But if God is the ultimate cause of all things, dare we charge Him with evil? … How can God be good when He permits (or does) things that seem so destructive and hurtful to human beings? (35)
Blame implies wrongdoing … responsibility usually implies accountability … It is best, I believe, to say that God is in charge of what happens on His planet, either directly or through secondary causes. (36)
Because He is the Giver of life, He also has the right to take life. He has a long-term agenda that is much more complex than keeping people alive as long as possible.
(36)
We believe that God has a good and all-wise purpose for the heartrending tragedies disasters bring. (38)
Yes, the plague was “God’s decree,” but we also must do what we can to save the lives of the sick and minister to the dying. (41)
3) Are There Lessons To Be Learned?
Let us candidly admit that even if we knew all the reasons God sent a disaster, it would not lessen the pain of a mother grieving for her children.
When disaster comes, we must spend more tie praying than talking. (45)
From God’s standpoint disasters might be meticulously planned, but from our perspective they occur haphazardly, randomly. (46)
Just as natural disasters do not divide the human race into two camps based on lifestyle, they also do not prove or disprove the relative value of any religion. (47)
Disasters help us to see what is truly valuable and what is not: Tragedy separates the trivial from the weighty, the temporal from the eternal. (50)
Life is simply a loan from God. He gives it and He takes it. And He can take it whenever and however He chooses. (55)
Death is determined for all of us, whether by cancer, an accident, or a natural disaster. The Bible teaches death is a scheduled, divine appointment. (55)
Disasters remind us that human existence on Earth was not intended to be permanent. … Natural disasters provide people with conclusive evidence that life on Earth is brief and uncertain.
Unexpected tragedy ends the illusion that our lives are predictable and our futures certain. (57)
4) Are Disasters the Judgment of God?
Natural disasters are a preview, a ‘heads up’ warning that more severe judgment is just up ahead. (62)
All death and destruction is a judgment of God. (63)
America is already under continuous, present, judgment. (64)
What appears to us random, no doubt has specific purposes known only to the Almighty. (64)
God does not delight in human suffering, but He does delight in the triumph of truth and justice and the completion of His hidden purposes. (70)
5) Can We Still Trust God?
An intelligent answer - even a true one - never satisfies the human heart. (78)
If an atheist/naturalist asks, where was God in this disaster, he is assuming a moral framework that can only exist if God exists. (78)
God is more inscrutable than we care to admit. (83)
We live by promises, not explanations. (84)
God’s answer to calamities is the Cross. (88)
Questions about the mystery of evil are not solved in this life but in the next. (90)
We should not affirm God’s control over nature divorced from God’s final triumph over this world and over history itself. Both must be believed. (91)
Blessed is the person who understands that we must trust God’s heart when we cannot understand His hand; blessed is the person who knows that we must stand in awe in the presence of the mystery of God’s purposes. Blessed is the person who keeps on believing no matter what. Blessed is the person who lets God be God. (94)
6) What Do You Say When Friends Ask?
The fact that we are alive is a reminder of God’s goodness. … Thanks to sin, this planet is not a safe place.
Natural disasters should remind all of us of the blessings we take for granted; they should lead us to deep and lasting gratitude. Before we ask why so many die in natural disasters, we should ask a different question: ‘Why are so many people - ourselves included - still living?’ (98)
Life is a gift and God has the right to give it and take it. (99)
God owes us nothing. (100)
When disasters come, God is not on trial, we are. (102)
Tragedies teach us to hold onto Christ tightly and everything else loosely. (105)
A great little book with lots of insight as suggested below:
1) Dare We Search For Answers?
Nature is cursed because man is cursed; natural evil - if we call it such - is therefore a reflection of moral evil, in that both are savage, ruthless and damaging. …
Nature is a mirror in which we see ourselves. (13)
When we look at Hurricane Katrina we should see a picture of the evil side of human nature - powerless, heartless, and randomly cruel. In an age that is indifferent to sin, natural disasters hold up a mirror that tells us what our sin looks like to God. Sin always leaves a trail of death and destruction with ongoing painful consequences. Both the physical world and mankind await a liberation that only God can bring about. (14)
Natural disasters do have an important message that we dare not ignore. (15)
2) Is God Responsible?
We must distinguish between the immediate cause of these events and their ultimate cause. The immediate cause of the lightning and the wind that killed Job’s children was the power of Satan. But follow carefully: It was God who gave Satan the power to wreak the havoc, and it was God who prescribed the limits of what Satan could or could not do. That is why Job, quite rightly, did not ascribe the death of his children to the devil but rather said, ’The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” (Job 1:21)
From a natural point of view, the immediate cause of an earthquake is a fault beneath the earth’s crust … The immediate causes of a tornado are unstable atmospheric conditions combined with warm, moist air. All of these weather patterns might or might not receive their impetus from Satan, yet we can be sure that the ultimate cause of these events is God. He either rules nature directly or through secondary causes, but either way, He is in charge. (30)
God has not relegated calamities to His hapless archival the devil without maintaining strict supervision and ultimate control of nature. No earthquake comes, no tornado rages, and no tsunami washes villages away, but that God signs off on it. (31)
First, many theologians who agree that God is in charge of nature emphasize that God does not ordain natural disasters but only permits them to happen. … However, keep in mind that the God who permits natural disasters to happen could choose to not permit them to happen. In the very act of allowing them, He demonstrates that they fall within the boundaries of His providence and will. …
Second - and this is important - God is sometimes pictured as being in control of nature, even without secondary causes. …
Third, if the heavens declare the glory of God, if it is true of nature, doesn’t it stand to reason that the calamities of nature, doesn’t it stand to reason that the calamities of nature also reveal something about His other attributes? … If nature is to give us a balanced picture of God, we must see His judgment, too. (30-311)
Who sent the flood during the time of Noah? God …
Who sent the plagues of Egypt? Who caused the sun to stand still so that Joshua could win a war? Who sealed the heavens during the time of Elijah and then brought rain in response to his prayer? Who sent the earthquake when the sons of Korah rebelled against Moses?
Can anyone say that God is not the ultimate cause of these disasters?
The biblical writer leaves no doubt as to who caused the storm that forced the sailors to throw Jonah overboard. (1:4) .. It appears that the Bible is not as concerned about God’s reputation as some theologians are. (32-33)
What do all these stories have in common? First, we notice that God is meticulously involved. … Second, these were, for the most part, acts of judgment. …
On the other hand, we should also note that in both the Old and New Testaments God sent an earthquake to help His people. (33)
Most important, if nature is out of God’s hands, then I am also out of God’s hands because I could be the victim of nature and thus die apart from His intentional will and purpose. (34)
But if God is the ultimate cause of all things, dare we charge Him with evil? … How can God be good when He permits (or does) things that seem so destructive and hurtful to human beings? (35)
Blame implies wrongdoing … responsibility usually implies accountability … It is best, I believe, to say that God is in charge of what happens on His planet, either directly or through secondary causes. (36)
Because He is the Giver of life, He also has the right to take life. He has a long-term agenda that is much more complex than keeping people alive as long as possible.
(36)
We believe that God has a good and all-wise purpose for the heartrending tragedies disasters bring. (38)
Yes, the plague was “God’s decree,” but we also must do what we can to save the lives of the sick and minister to the dying. (41)
3) Are There Lessons To Be Learned?
Let us candidly admit that even if we knew all the reasons God sent a disaster, it would not lessen the pain of a mother grieving for her children.
When disaster comes, we must spend more tie praying than talking. (45)
From God’s standpoint disasters might be meticulously planned, but from our perspective they occur haphazardly, randomly. (46)
Just as natural disasters do not divide the human race into two camps based on lifestyle, they also do not prove or disprove the relative value of any religion. (47)
Disasters help us to see what is truly valuable and what is not: Tragedy separates the trivial from the weighty, the temporal from the eternal. (50)
Life is simply a loan from God. He gives it and He takes it. And He can take it whenever and however He chooses. (55)
Death is determined for all of us, whether by cancer, an accident, or a natural disaster. The Bible teaches death is a scheduled, divine appointment. (55)
Disasters remind us that human existence on Earth was not intended to be permanent. … Natural disasters provide people with conclusive evidence that life on Earth is brief and uncertain.
Unexpected tragedy ends the illusion that our lives are predictable and our futures certain. (57)
4) Are Disasters the Judgment of God?
Natural disasters are a preview, a ‘heads up’ warning that more severe judgment is just up ahead. (62)
All death and destruction is a judgment of God. (63)
America is already under continuous, present, judgment. (64)
What appears to us random, no doubt has specific purposes known only to the Almighty. (64)
God does not delight in human suffering, but He does delight in the triumph of truth and justice and the completion of His hidden purposes. (70)
5) Can We Still Trust God?
An intelligent answer - even a true one - never satisfies the human heart. (78)
If an atheist/naturalist asks, where was God in this disaster, he is assuming a moral framework that can only exist if God exists. (78)
God is more inscrutable than we care to admit. (83)
We live by promises, not explanations. (84)
God’s answer to calamities is the Cross. (88)
Questions about the mystery of evil are not solved in this life but in the next. (90)
We should not affirm God’s control over nature divorced from God’s final triumph over this world and over history itself. Both must be believed. (91)
Blessed is the person who understands that we must trust God’s heart when we cannot understand His hand; blessed is the person who knows that we must stand in awe in the presence of the mystery of God’s purposes. Blessed is the person who keeps on believing no matter what. Blessed is the person who lets God be God. (94)
6) What Do You Say When Friends Ask?
The fact that we are alive is a reminder of God’s goodness. … Thanks to sin, this planet is not a safe place.
Natural disasters should remind all of us of the blessings we take for granted; they should lead us to deep and lasting gratitude. Before we ask why so many die in natural disasters, we should ask a different question: ‘Why are so many people - ourselves included - still living?’ (98)
Life is a gift and God has the right to give it and take it. (99)
God owes us nothing. (100)
When disasters come, God is not on trial, we are. (102)
Tragedies teach us to hold onto Christ tightly and everything else loosely. (105)
August 28, 2019
Erwin Lutzer nunca será un desperdicio a la hora de leer.
January 3, 2013
This was an excellent little book. Lutzer's writing style is conversational yet logical and thoughtful. In actuality this book is a short apologetic on God's sovereignty over natural disasters. Luther's supports himself well with Scripture and interacts with numerous opposing authors and religions. Although it is a little dated (2006), this is a great book.
December 6, 2013
A topic on which many books have been written! Most of them are unconvincing and this is primarily because there is no certain answer to problem of evil and suffering! But I must say that the book is well written and the author has come out with a strong case! A good read!
September 7, 2016
Difficult Subject - fair and honest
Lutzer approaches the difficult questions of the age and of agnostics - Lutzer does not give overly simple answers to these difficult questions, but forces one to think and decide
Lutzer approaches the difficult questions of the age and of agnostics - Lutzer does not give overly simple answers to these difficult questions, but forces one to think and decide
November 5, 2022
Very solid and mature reading on why the Lord allows so much tragedy on our planet....in particular natural catastrophe that effect so many people yearly.....very encouraging.....
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews