It is the little things that you notice: the quiet hum of the air conditioner, the rhythmic ticking of a nearby clock, the gentle breeze in the room. Things that can only be observed when absolute stillness is invoked by the news of a dear loved one tragically passing away. It’s only when the shock wears off that the true horror begins. It can seem as if you are falling in a bottomless pit. The light of the surface gradually fading from view. The uncertainty of what is below. The uneasiness of losing all control. The cold air begins rapidly displacing all semblance of warmth as the darkness slowly swallows you whole.
It can seem like a hell on earth. You can feel alone in a room full of people. Hungry but the smell of food makes you sick. You become the kind of tired that no amount of sleep can fix. The prospect of doing what you once did turns your stomach. However, we do not grieve as the world grieves. As a Christian, there is one major difference between how we deal with tragedy and how an unsaved person deals with tragedy.
Hope
There is always hope. Always. Regardless of how bleak, how dark, and how cold your life might seem, there is still hope. Tragedy comes to all our lives though we may not wish it. In these moments, there always seems to be one burning question that many become obsessed with: Why? Why did this happen? Trying to answer this question usually leads people down a dangerous path without ever discovering the truth behind why the tragedy happens. Regardless of what you might think or believe, my question to you is:
“What are you going to do when you don’t know why?”
Will crisis rob you of your faith? Will you fold under
the pressure? Will you allow your circumstance to consume you? Will you run away from God when you need Him the most?
Regardless of how long you study on this earth you will never reach the pinnacle of understanding. You can never study enough or pray enough to have all the answers. The Bible says:
“Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” – 1 Corinthians 13:9-12 (NLT)
Paul is saying over and over again that we only see part of the picture down here. In other words, there are going to be a lot of things that we don’t understand. So, when a tragedy knocks you flat on your back and you don’t understand why, what will you do?
Jesus gives us the key to facing down the worst life has to offer in this passage:
Jesus called a little one to his side and said to them, “Learn this well: Unless you dramatically change your way of thinking and become teachable, and learn about heaven’s kingdom realm with the wide-eyed wonder of a child, you will never be able to enter in. Whoever continually humbles himself to become like this gentle child is the greatest one in heaven’s kingdom realm.” – Matthew 18:2-4 (TPT)
Kids don’t understand how everything works. They ask questions that they couldn’t
understand the answers even if they heard it. Like how does a space ship go to the moon? They are probably not quite ready for rocket science, and if we were humble ourselves then we would realize that we may not be ready for or understand the “why” of our situation.
Children have two things that almost no adults have: trust and a pure heart. If they need help, they ask poppa or momma for help. If trouble comes their way, and they don’t understand anything that is going on, they don’t blame their parents for letting it happen, they don’t try to figure out why it could happen in the first place; they just run straight into their parents arms looking for help, hope, and healing. Oh… that we could be like a small child with the Lord. Our faith would be so simple that regardless of what happens in life, we’d run straight into the Father’s arms and weep, ask for help, and worship Him in spite of it all. We only see part of the picture down here, and one part of that picture is that God is a good God, He loves you unconditionally, and He never ever wants to cause you pain. Have enough faith in your Father’s love and enough trust in His character that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is for you and does not cause destruction to occur in your life. Let go of what you’ve been holding onto and find rest in Gods arms. In closing, hear the Words of Jesus call out to you in this very moment:
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” – Jesus
Matthew 11:28-30 (Msg)
Scriptures to encourage:
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. —Psalm 34:18 NLT
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds curing their pains and their sorrows.—Psalm 147:3 AMP
Do not let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me. —John 14:1 AMP
God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away. —Revelation 21:4 AMP
A Poem I Wrote for Loss:
There is a great darkness that doesn’t wait for night, A cold, empty void that hides the light. It’s the end to every beginning, Feels as if your enemy is winning.
This cancer of the earth, inescapable since birth. We were not made for death, To feel the pain of love’s last breath,
The sin that brought loss to our homes, Has been forgiven but its child still roams, With its claws sharp but its sting removed, The pain cuts deep but its poison subdued,
You have a daddy above, The purest light named Love, Ready to pierce the void, So you won’t be destroyed
Lean on him and the pain will slowly fade, As the darkness turns to shade, And the hope of tomorrow, Begins to lessen yesterday’s sorrow.
Prayer: Lord, I know you know what loss is like. You lost your most beloved Son, for the sake of gaining me. Strengthen me, Lord. Encourage me, teach me how to look to you when my emotions are running wild, and my heart heavy. I know you love me, I know you are a good God, but Lord, if I’m being honest, what I feel and what I know aren’t lining up right now. Lord, I ask you to heal my heart, fill the gaps of my life left by loss with the hope that is found in You. You are more than enough for every need and every void that I’ve have. Thank you, Lord, for your help. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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