About five or six years ago, the university in our town got a new vice-chancellor. I went to meet the new leader and to introduce myself. At the end of the day, he invited me into his office. We greeted and began to get to know one another. Not long into our conversation, I asked this really smart administrator, “Do you know for sure that all your sins are forgiven and that you will spend eternity with God in heaven?” He surprised me when without hesitation he said, “Yes, Jesus is my Lord and Savior.” This is not a common answer in Cameroon. The most common answer to my question is, “I’m trying.” This man spoke with confidence and assurance. I went on to ask, “How do you know this?” He shared the following, amazing testimony…
He said, “I grew up in church, and always tried to be a good Christian. I went to church most Sundays and gave my offerings faithfully. I participated in all the church activities and was looked up to in the community. A few years ago, my daughter was a student at a university in Nigeria. I was so proud of her. One terrible day, I received word that she had been attacked and brutally murdered. I was broken and bitter with God. I quit going to church and became a very angry man. It took several weeks for her body to be transported from Nigeria back to Cameroon. My pastor came to our home for the memorial service. I tried to avoid him because I knew he would ask me how I was doing and why I had been missing church. The pastor finally caught up with me. In bitterness I spat out the question, ‘Where was God? Where was God when those wicked men took my daughter, abused her, and brutally murdered her? Where was God then, Pastor?’ The pastor was calm and controlled. He said, ‘I know you are angry. I know you are bitter with God right now, but I want to lovingly answer your important question. God is still where he was before.’ What do you mean ‘before?’, the academic asked. The pastor continued, ‘Long before you and I were born and long after you and I will die, God will still be sitting on the throne of heaven. You see my friend; you are not the only one who lost a child to wicked murdering hands. God sent His son into this world to save sinners like you and me. One day as God the Father sat on His throne, wicked and cruel men took his Son. They attacked Him. They abused Him, and they murdered Him. And God allowed it to bring salvation to this home and to your life. I am so sorry about what happened to your daughter. I do not know God’s reasoning, but I do know where God was. He was in the same place He was when they murdered His precious child. God was sitting on the throne of heaven. He saw all that happened, and He will bring justice one day soon. What about you? Are you ready to meet the Lord today?’”
The vice-chancellor, that great academic leader of the country looked into my eyes across his desk and said, “I came under deep conviction of my sin that day. I realized that God could have stopped the murder of His Son, but He did not. I realized that God is still sitting on the throne, and I needed to surrender to Him and be saved. That was the day I chose to put my faith in Christ as my Savior. I do not know why God allowed my daughter to be killed, but just knowing that God was still in the same place He was when they murdered His Son was the mental picture and explanation of the Gospel I needed to be saved.”
Where was God two years ago when our car was attacked? Where was God when those shotgun blasts rang out and killed Charles Wesco? Where was God when Stephanie was left a widow and their eight children were left fatherless? I’m here to say today, “He is in the same place He was before.” He was on His throne in 33AD. He was on His throne on October 30, 2018, and He is still sitting on the throne of the universe. Are you ready to meet Him? Are you prepared to face His justice? Come before His throne of grace.
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)
