When tragedy strikes our lives, it can be difficult to see past the pain. We know God is still there and our hearts are still towards Him. Still, our day to day activities can become daunting and our vision blurs. All we can see is the pain immediately before us. In these times the best we can do is to stay focused on Jesus. He is the One who calms the storms (Matthew 8:23-27). Only He is going to be able to pull you through safely to the other side.
The world will offer its temptations, its own versions of comfort and false solutions, but we know better. Jesus has brought us this far, and He will see us through. God is God when the times are good, and He is still God when the going gets rough. His love for you does not change.
To look for the reason why we are going through the pain, I think, is to misplace our energy. We’ll be asking the wrong questions. Instead, we must recognize and understand as long as there is sin in this world, there will be evil and loss. God didn’t ordain evil. It was chosen by the devil and his angels, and ultimately it was chosen by humans. We continue to choose sin over Christ, evil over good. As a result, our world is groaning under the weight and pressure of the cumulative effect of thousands of years of sin. Satan has been wreaking havoc on our world since very near its beginning, and he won’t stop until Jesus banishes Him once and for all (Revelation 20:10).
Because of this, we should never be surprised when tragedy strikes. We should be more surprised when it doesn’t. Our world seems to be spiraling out of control, fully ensconced in the clutches of the devil and his minions. But appearances can be deceiving. God is ultimately in control. He will not allow Satan to go on forever. Rather, God is waiting patiently, giving a little more time so one more person can repent and turn to Him. He is not willing any of us should perish. Thus, He is eternally patient in waiting for another to come to Him. This can be hard for us to reconcile with our finite brains. We want justice, and we want it now, in our time, and in our way.
When tragedy strikes, the big picture can be almost impossible to see. The edges fade into their surroundings and all we can see is the pain before us. We cry out, but relief doesn’t come. We don’t understand. Often, there is nothing to understand. There is evil in the world, and sometimes the result of all this sin, all this decay, bleeds into our lives and affects us or those we hold most dear. It doesn’t always make sense. What more would we expect in a world full of people who have rejected God and chosen to do things their own way? While our pain may seem senseless, we need not despair. We have hope. We have Jesus. He was there before the tragedy, and He’ll not only be there on the other side, He’ll also be with you as you walk through it. When tragedy strikes, He is there. Cling to Him. He will see you through.