That Awful Silence

At different times, places and degrees, we all encounter and experience suffering. It may be physical pain, financial or emotional loss, the death of someone we love. During those times we ask, "Where is God when it hurts the most?" When tragedy strikes or when loneliness threatens to almost snuff out our last flickering hopes. God seems the most distant then. When seeking answers, where do we turn? How do we respond? How do we go on? Are we able to say along with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego of the fiery furnace fame, "Our God, whom we serve, will deliver us. But even if he does not, we will serve him still"?