Out of Phase #31 Tragedy

It seems our news, both locally and nationally, has been clogged with report after report of gut-wrenching tragedies: family’s losing loved ones, lives forever changed, communities in shock. These situations can either draw us closer to God, knowing He is our ultimate hope, peace, and provider—or they can knock our faith completely out of phase and drive us to question whether God is indeed good or even if He exists at all.

These questions have driven many conversations, have been the subject of many sermons, and have consumed much of our collective thoughts. And yet it seems even if we are able to come up with some sense of understanding, still we are left wanting. Jesus did not guarantee life would be easy—for any of us. In fact, He spoke of quite the opposite.

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. John 16:33 NLT

And you will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. Matthew 10:22 NASB

If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. John 15:18-19 Berean Standard Bible

These verses can shed some light on why bad things happen, but still they do not fully address why God allows it in the first place. And it is this, I believe, that truly allows tragedy to knock our faith out of phase.

In all the time I have spent pondering these very questions, as well as listening to others do the same, I have not heard as well of a thought-out response to the question of God’s goodness as I did this.

The tragedy, the pain, the devastation and the simple annoyances of life all in one way or another point us to the ugliness of sin. Were this not the case, we humans would likely settle in and decide the consequences of either original sin or our own are not really that bad. So, in reality the pain we experience is God revealing to us the hopelessness and ugliness of sin.

I wish I could remember who it was that said this so that I could give them credit. Nonetheless, the thought itself has been at the front of my mind for a few weeks now. When chaos first invaded the earth through the doorway of Adam and Eve’s sin, creation was changed. Weeds appeared for the first time in the earth’s fertile soil, some of the animal kingdom instantly became carnivorous, everything began aging, death and destruction became the new normal. It is difficult for us to imagine life any different and yet in the depths of our soul we instinctively know this is not the way it is supposed to be.

Jesus did not promise us a life without chaos on this earth. But he did promise us His Spirit, His peace, and His rest, all of which are available in spite of circumstance. I have been reading through the book of Jeremiah and this morning I read this:

My people have become lost sheep; Their shepherds have led them astray. They have made them turn aside on the mountains; They have gone along from mountain to hill and have forgotten their resting place. Jeremiah 50:6

It is understandable that tragedy drives us to question. However, when we remember our resting place, when live in a place where our gaze is centered on Jesus, tragedy—though extremely painful and difficult—will not knock us out of phase. Rather, it will be a stinging reminder of the consequence of sin and the importance of resting in the One who has triumphed over it.