Scrolling through the news of recent tragedies, I noticed a common theme among many of my friends: the question "Where is God? Why did he let this happen?". While both are valid questions for those who are not familiar with God's power, there are some things that need to be cleared up.

First, God did not make these events happen. That's not how this works. We run off of free will, but we are covered by the hand of God. He has His hand on all affairs and through every tragedy He has already made ways for good to come out of it. His plan is better than any plan we could ever imagine for ourselves and it is up to us to trust in Him. Romans 8:28 says "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” So what does this mean for us?

It means that there is a reason these events are happening and that reason is that our backs are turned to the only light we have. While talking with some friends we all agreed that it seemed like shootings, crimes and death were occurring more and more often. We were right. Crime rates are up and it seems like there is another death at every corner. Why? Because we, as a nation, have turned our backs on God. This happens time and time again. You can read through the Bible and see a cycle of people turning away from God, things getting real bad, and realizing the need to turn to God. We are in the midst of that cycle. Rev. Graham said, "We used to be one nation under God, but now we are one nation who has turned away from God. History has shown that when nations do this, their end is near." We have taken God out of the government, out of the schools, and out of the public eye, yet we have the audacity to ask "Why God? Why did you let this happen?” See the problem

But let me be clear, just because we have turned our back on Him does not mean he has turned his back on us. He is waiting on us to cry out to Him and declare our faith in His plan. Our nation was founded by Christians "under God,” and we are in a battle every day to preserve what faith is left in this country. So put away your pitch forks and pick up your cross. Be the example instead of hiding behind a computer screen. If you want change, then make it happen. Also, in your protests and Facebook rants remember this: God is ultimately in control. He has had His hand on this nation since day one and He has already seen the last day. We cannot see now what He is doing, but His plan will prevail. He will use these things for good IF we allow ourselves to take off the blinders and see that He is the one true King.