A young man, active in his church, is talking with a friend named Andy. Andy is a fellow believer who has called him on the phone. They hadn’t spoken in some time. Suddenly the young man blurts out, “Where is God, Andy, where is the God we sing about and pray to all the time?” Then he reveals why he senses God’s absence. He is broke. He hasn’t eaten a complete meal in two weeks, his rent is behind, the water and electricity are disconnected and on top of that he has no money to fill his prescription and he is bipolar.

Andy listens with compassion. He wonders where God is, too, for his friend. He knows his friend is a committed Christian. In fact, this friend was instrumental in getting him in church years before. Now listening to his friend’s problems, he begins wondering why God seems to…