Ever ask, "God, do you exist?" “God, where are you?” “Can I believe in a loving Heavenly Father that would permit terrible tragedies to happen?” These are all important questions that deserve answers (that you alone must seek out).
It is the Almighty’s desire for us to experience His strength, love, justice, holiness and compassion. God knows what will happen tomorrow, next week, next year, the next decade. So it would be to our advantage to make a sincere effort to discover Him. Consider the points below:
1.
Accidents (and chaos) are a part of our
fallen world: Misfortunes have plagued human kind ever since the race
was driven from the Garden of Eden. No one is exempt (including the godly). I
doubt few would question that the apostle Paul was one of the most dedicated
Christian workers in history. His life was full of challenges (until it
concluded at the blade of a Roman executioner).
The Apostle Paul did
not see tragedy as evidence against the existence of a compassionate Heavenly
Father. He didn’t delight in hardships. Paul was overjoyed in his own flaws
because it was then that gave God displayed His strength.
Jesus told us to expect
difficulties in life. Life in a fallen world might shock us at times, but it
shouldn’t surprise us. Tragedies are agonizing and often senseless, but your
Heavenly Father is always there for you to lean on.
“Pain is the
soil where the deepest kind of faith in God grows.” (Sarah Sumner)
2.
God is always in control, (even when
it appears He isn’t): God remains in ultimate control.
Nothing happens that does not first pass through his loving hands. The Almighty
does as He pleases with the people of this world.
We may not fully
understand this when we face tragedies, but our lack of understanding does not
diminish the above truth. Before we were born, God knew exactly how long we
would live and how we would die, which remains true whether our days are many
or few.
God always has a purpose in what He allows (even if we don’t know it): From our perspective, tragedies look meaningless, senseless, and chaotic. God knows how to take tragedies and bring good out of them.
God always has a purpose in what He allows (even if we don’t know it): From our perspective, tragedies look meaningless, senseless, and chaotic. God knows how to take tragedies and bring good out of them.
The Heavenly Father
specializes in taking evil and bringing good out of it. We must continue to
believe that He has a purpose in everything that happens even if we are unable
to see it.
Tragedy can serve as a wake-up call: A secular society may be stopped short when a tragedy of national proportions takes place (when redemptive truth comes out). There is something about Calvary that people who reject Christ (both intellectually and verbally) are gripped by the story.
Tragedy can serve as a wake-up call: A secular society may be stopped short when a tragedy of national proportions takes place (when redemptive truth comes out). There is something about Calvary that people who reject Christ (both intellectually and verbally) are gripped by the story.
Perhaps, the Heavenly
Father allows tragedy to grab people out of there apathy. What a shame it takes
horrendous wake-up calls to open our sleepy eyes.
“It is only for a little while that you
will have to traverse this howling desert.” (John MacDuff, 1859)
3.
It is possible to embrace hope even in the
midst of tragedy: I
cannot imagine what it would be like to endure a tragedy without the hope that
God offers. Without Jesus Christ, there is an eternal, black, cold, and
unrelenting void. Hope is available to all of us in the midst of tragedy.
There is
hope for eternal life and being reunited with those we love. God has promised
to walk with us through any disaster that might overtake us.
“It is not death or dying that is tragic, but rather to
have existed without fully participating in life (that is the deepest personal
tragedy).” (Edward Abbey)
4.
This world is not our final home: We were created for eternity, and
tragedy can never change that. This is only a prelude to what the Almighty has
in mind for us. Because we look only at the present, we consider someone’s
death as untimely.
Our perspective is
limited to our current world. The Heavenly Father looks at infinity. If we are
to handle calamity, we must be taught to view all challenges through the lens
of a timeless Heaven.
5.
God
and our free will: God has created humanity with the ability to choose or
reject Him. He could force us to love Him. What kind of relationship would that
be? It would be forced obedience. If God would prevent the murder, there is no
longer freedom to choose.
People choose to ignore God, disobey Him, go their own way,
and to sometimes commit horrible acts against others. The Heavenly Father is
not at the mercy of people, but we are at His mercy. He is unlimited in power
and wisdom.
Though problems seem insurmountable to us, we have a capable
God. The Almighty is able to maintain the freedom of sinful humans (yet still
bring about His will). [i]
“It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The
wounds remain. In time, the mind protecting its sanity covers them with scar
tissue, and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.” (Rose Kennedy)
[i] Sources used:
· “Where Is
God When Bad Things Happen?” by Luis Palau
· “Where is God in the Midst of Tragedy?” by Marilyn
Adamson
· “Where Is
God in Tragedy?” by Sarah Sumner
The book of Job in the Bible covers the topic of why God allows suffering in the world.
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