Where is God when everything falls apart?

Hi friend.

I want to tell you about something that happened in May 2024 in the English town of Hastings. A water main burst, and 35,000 people lost their running water for six whole days. No washing up. No flushing toilets. No normal life.

You’d expect chaos, wouldn’t you?

But something beautiful happened instead. Neighbours who had never spoken became lifelines to each other. Volunteers mobilised. Help appeared on doorsteps. People discovered that the community they had walked past every day was actually full of unexpected kindness.

It made me think of Acts 17:27, where Paul tells the Athenians that God is “not far from any one of us.”

Here’s what I’ve noticed over the years. When we’re in a hard season, we often look up, hoping for some dramatic sign from heaven. But sometimes God’s nearness doesn’t arrive with fireworks. Sometimes it arrives as a neighbour with bottled water. A friend who texts at exactly the right moment. A stranger offering practical help when we’re overwhelmed.

Jesus ministered through touch, through shared meals, through presence. And today he still does, through his people - through us.

So if you’re in a difficult season right now, here’s my gentle encouragement: don’t just look up. Look around. God may be closer than you think.

And maybe, just maybe, you’re also meant to be his nearness to someone else today.

I unpack all this in today’s 5-minute devotional. Watch it here:

With hope.

Rob

Read this week’s devotionals here - https://open.substack.com/pub/battledrilldevotional/p/when-life-feels-dark?r=643q6o&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true