Genesis 3:9-10 “So the Lord God called out to the man, ‘Where are you?” and Adam said ‘I heard Your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself”
The picture above may have caught your interest- it surely grabbed my attention. Many abroad are grieving the loss of their loved ones from drug overdoses. Last year I lost two friends of mine to drug addiction. This year I lost two more. Currently, I have many friends and family members who are actively in drug addiction. And as a natural human response we might ask ourselves the question written in the picture above, “Is God Real”? Or, to put it another way, the question we are really asking is, “Why would God allow this? Why is God not intervening? If He is real, where is He?” In 2013 I found myself asking the same question as I was enslaved to many drugs while living homeless on the streets of Columbus and extremely suicidal. My life had become an absolute train-wreck. I lost everything including my family, friends, job, money, manhood, and sanity. I gave up all hope and concluded that my life was irrecoverable. Death was more appetizing than life, so I made the conscious decision to end my life. However, before acting upon suicide, I desperately prayed one last prayer and said, “God, I hate everything about my life”. Surprisingly, God spoke right back to me and said, “Jimmy, where are you?”
I almost laughed. I thought to myself, “Where am I? WHERE AM I! I’m here where I’ve always been God!” But I quickly realized the answer to God’s question. God never left. God has always been here. It was not God who was distant, but me. God was always next to me, wooing me, calling me, persuading me, reaching out to me- but I was unwilling to respond because I loved my sin. He wanted to save and deliver me by His power and grace, but I hid myself like Adam (Genesis 3) and was afraid to come because of my guilt and shame. For so long I rejected His call because of my selfishness, and it wasn’t until this moment that I was aware of this reality.
In this moment, I threw up my hands in surrender and cried out, “God, help me” and He was eager to do so! He transformed my life, changed my affections, forgave my sins, adopted me into His family- all through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. It was all in Jesus that I finally found the only true meaning, purpose, and fulfillment of life. The chains of addiction were broken. And the life I now live is in Christ and for Christ. I don’t say this ideally or as cute language, but I speak this as an undeniable reality that occurred in my life.
God’s mission all along was to save me to Himself. Although I ran from Him like a criminal, He chased me down and caught me. I realize now that this is God’s preferred will towards all mankind: that He would save us from our sin and bring us into His family. God was never the One to blame- I was. It was my heart and actions that separated me from God. And in His great love and mercy He has saved me by revealing to me His Son Jesus Christ. And for this, I am mightily saved! And not only in my life, but so many others around the world!
So, to answer the question, “Is God Real?” the answer is YES He is. God is near and is drawing men and women everywhere to Himself. And whether we want to admit it or not, it is our sin that keeps us from coming to Him. Will you not come?
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