If there is a God, why do cars crash? Why do people crash their lives?

A few days ago, I saw a nice young couple. In my opinion, they were a good-looking young couple, and very polite. The only problem was, he was in a wheelchair, and I guess that he was injured for life. His young wife worked hard to support him, and I think she is a hero, but I didn’t like what I saw. Some terrible accident ruined their happy life together.

So, where was God?

I have more than one friend who is close to me, with something very wrong in their lives. It’s painful to watch, and it is not easy for me to trust God for them. I also have a relative in a town where I work some times. People I talk to know my relative, better that I do. She is famous as one of the most messed up people in town. Those conversations are embarrassing.

I have this nagging doubt that nothing will happen if I pray.

The Bible tells us “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6) That is so simple; just believe. One of the biggest issues in my life is this; simple is not easy. I can tell that young couple, and my friends, and my relative, that they should just believe in Jesus. That is true, but that might also be the hardest thing they ever do. Believing is not easy for me and it won’t be easy for them.

You might know the popular song “Jersey on the Wall.” The song describes the shock after a young athletic hero dies in a car crash. The jersey on the wall is his, a team jersey hung as a memorial to a life that ended too soon.

The song mentions a mother who no longer goes to church. The song is about not believing anymore. With the video link, there are comments from listeners. The comment that got my attention is “I grew up conservative Christian, and this song comes closer to describing my relationship with God than anything I’ve ever heard.”

It’s easy to judge. The comment probably comes from someone who no longer goes to church, and who probably doesn’t want to be a Christian now.

The logical answer is easy, trust God before the crash, and we don’t have what we don’t want. If you tell a friend to go away, and say I don’t want to be friends anymore, they might believe you and leave. Later, if you need a good friend, that one might not be there. We get what we order.

The question is, “Where am I?” and not “Where is God?”

I remember a time, when I had some stress in my life. My problems came from some other people, and from bad choices that I made, and I could not make the trouble go away. I will skip the details, but I was a Christian and I went to a church on Sunday. The pastor told us to trust God for the problems in our lives, and I thought that sermon was good for me. Before the service ended, and I could escape, the pastor said we could come to the front of the church, and someone would pray with us, if we were wrestling with a problem. It was one of those churches.

I still remember my simple decision; simple but not easy. I stepped into the aisle, and walked to the front, with a few other people. Everyone else in the building watched us, and thought whatever they wanted. Somehow, I believed.

Today, I can hardly remember the problem, but I know my life is much better, and those other people who bothered me have all disappeared from my life. When a hospital patient is released and sent home, we could ask when they recovered, but they probably won’t know a healing time. They will know that they are better now. My life is like that.

Jesus was blunt with us:

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

Matthew 7: 1, 2, and 3

One reason to not judge is because we don’t know what to judge. We judge what we can see, and we can’t see if other people sincerely believe. Trusting God is all we need to do; we could change the world if we could do that almost impossible thing.

If you are wrestling with some impossible thing, I hope you can take that simple and impossible step forward. In my experience, everything changes from there. Your crash can become a blurred memory in a happy life.

We were told:

Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.

Matthew 17: 20