What is one of the most common questions we throw at God when things aren’t going according to plan? When we’re having a bad day, or when someone gets sick or an unthinkable tragedy has occurred?

Where are you?

We throw up our hands in frustration and bellow it at the sky … often in rage and frustration. This very question has caused so many people to abandon their faith and wander away from God. 

Where are you, God?

But it’s important to note that this question goes both ways. Incidentally, it was the first recorded question that God asked of mankind as he walked in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day.

“Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9).

The Hebrew word that is used here is Ayekah. Many interpret this word not in a directional sense (Adam and Eve weren’t that good at hide-and-seek after all) but rather in a spiritual sense: “Where is your heart? Where are your priorities? Where is our relationship?”

God asks this of us constantly … if we would but open our ears and hear him. So the next time you’re feeling adrift, consider where your spirit is at in relation to God. Imagine him asking you, “Ayekah? Where are you today? Where are you in relation to my heart? Are you and I aligned? Are you listening to me?”

Take time daily to align your inner compass to God’s voice, and whatever comes next will be bearable.