Where Was God?

Is God always present in our lives and how can we know He truly exists?   For people who believe in a higher power, they trust that He is always present, during the good times and the tragedies.   During the Holocaust, when millions of people were murdered based on their religious beliefs, many questioned their own faith and whether or not God was actually real and present.   They wondered how God could let this happen to innocent people who He loved.   Although genocide is one of the worst acts of humankind, the answer is that God was, in fact, present.   God did not create the Holocaust, man did.
In the Bible, it is said that God gave man free will (Genesis 3).   Man has the freedom to choose nearly any path he would like to take.   He can even choose whether or not to believe in God.   God gave man this freedom because He loves His creations and wants them to learn from their choices.   He also allows free will in order for man to experience the consequences of sinful behavior and poor choices.   If there were no consequences for sin, people would not realize the need for salvation and would not come to God for the mercy He offers.   Some people cannot handle free will, which is why there is evil in the world.   This is illustrated through the Holocaust.   The Jewish people often questioned the existence of God during this period because of how devastating it was.   Some people completely changed their belief structure.   Instead of asking why these evil people were choosing to torture and kill, many concentration camp inmates asked themselves, “For God’s sake, where is God?” (Wiesel, 65).   They simply stopped believing in God altogether because they felt there was no hope.   If they had looked a little harder and trusted in the word of God, the answers were right in front of them in their holy texts.   God was there, watching every single horrible act against them.   He knew in the end, He would be the ultimate judge of each and every person.   The time for revenge would come...