A Megaphone

“Pain is God’s megaphone to a deaf world.” (C.S. Lewis)

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.

 

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.

 

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)

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[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.