We live in a broken world, affected by sin and evil. Sometimes that brokeness entreats upon us and we are shaken to our knees.
Such happened this week, when a little baby less than two weeks old lay in great sickness, with a terminal infection, at the University of Iowa health center. The best doctors in our state could not save him.
His young mother, a member of our church is devasted, along with his father, and both families of grandparents, uncles and aunts. Our church has a broken heart.
Our hearts go out to Meagan and Michael, to the Parsons and Norland families, in the passing to heaven of little Kennedy. It is all so very sad, so hard for human hearts to take. Please join me in praying for them.
Confusion ..... Shock .... Despair...... Disbelief ...... Heart breaking grief -- these are the emotions they are feeling. They were overjoyed at the miracle of new life, new birth -- but now they are forced to grieve and pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.
In times like these I have heard people ask, "How could God allow this to happen?" It is a natural question, rising from our human sadness. But we have to understand that there are good and evil forces at work in this world. The brokenness of our earth is at work in the sad and hurting things of the world. The Bible tells us that in God's perfect world to come there will be no more tears, no more sadness.
"3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him opr her that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7He or her that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his or her God, and he shall be my son, she will be my daughter." Revlations 21:3-7
In that coming bright day these parents will be re-united with Kennedy again. It is a promise we believe in. God will bring His young ones home to Him. But the tragedy of it all remains, shocking our senses, and shattering our hearts.
What Should You Do When Tragedy Strikes?
Put Your Faith in God, and Keep Your Faith in God
When one thinks about sustaining faith, he can learn from the story of Job. The Bible says that Job was a perfect man, a righteous man, a man who turned from evil. Nonetheless, in one fell swoop everything that had meaning and purpose or made sense for Job was lost.
The Sabeans rustled all his oxen and donkeys and killed all the herdsmen. Fire struck the sheep and the shepherds and burned them up. The Chaldeans raided the camels, carried them off, and put all the drivers to death. A whirlwind swept across the desert, struck his eldest son’s house, and killed all of Job’s sons and daughters while they were dining.( Job 1:13-19)
To top if off, Job broke out in running sores from head to foot, and in disgust his wife said to him. "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!" (Job 2:9)
There he was. Job the righteous. Job the affluent. Job the successful. Job the powerful. Everything was gone. His world had crashed. Everything was wiped out.
What would you do? What would you do if you lost it all? What would you do if your children were taken from you? What would do if your spouse said, "Curse God and die?"
Look at Job and his response. Here was a sick man sitting in an ash pile. Notice his action: "Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshipped" (Job 1:20).
He remembered the source of His strength. He remembered the hope of his future. He remembered that God said that He would never leave him nor forsake him. It is rather strange, isn’t it? Everything was lost, and Job fell down on the ground and worshipped.
In essence, Job is saying, "Even though, tragedy has struck my life and I’ve lost it all, I trust God and I know that everything will be all right." We read of his profound faith in ....
Job 19:25,26 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God.
May we encourage people in tragic situations to keep your faith and to remind them that they are not alone. I believe that God will supply us with a power that is greater than ourselves to bring us through the difficulties that we face.
Notice what Job did. Notice what he did not do. He did NOT lose faith in God.
Job 1:20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship It is rather strange, isn’t it? Everything was lost, and Job fell down on the ground and worshipped. In essence, he is saying, "Even though, I’ve lost it all, I trust God and I know that everything will be all right in the long run."
Job 19:25,26 Fo I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God.
Pray for God's comfort in your situation. Prayer rises over earthly limits, prayer steps over the boundaries, it surpasses the limiting factors, it causes you to rise above the hindrances, it helps you to cope with the uncontrollable.
Express Your Complete Trust in God.
That is where faith comes in. You have to believe that His word is true. You have to trust. There are four things that I want to share with you about trust:
a. When we trust God, we can expect God to work all things out for good.
Whatever is going on, we must remember that God is working out for your good. I am not saying that everything that happens to you will be good. There will be pain. There will be suffering. But, I believe that God takes those pains and blends them with His grace and produces good out of bad situations.
In the darkest moments of our lives together, Patty and I have claimed ...
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Many times we have had to say, "God we do not understand it; We don’t like it; but we put our trust in you and we believe that you will work all things together for your good in the long run.
The Bible gives hope into difficult situations. The Word of God can transform you and give you the energy to press on in the face of your opposition. You can press on with confidence that God is going to make everything good.
We can be confident that God’s word is true. God will help us in our grief. He will help us to carry on. Don’t lose hope. Put your confidence in Him.
c. As we trust God, we can expect the Spirit to make intercession when we are having problems.
Jesus is our advocate. In John 14, Jesus said, "I will not leave you as orphans, but I will send you a comforter, the Holy Spirit. He will be with you and will walk along side of you." The Holy Spirit is provided to make intercession when we are having problems. ..
Romans 8:26-27 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our heart knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
God’s Spirit will connect with your spirit and everything will be all right.
d. As we trust God, we can expect God to keep us in His love. God will keep you in his love. Paul says in
Romans 8:35, 37-39:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or the sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, angels nor demons, things present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Glory be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
We are not immune from tragedy, but neither are we alone. Call on God. He wil be with you.
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