Instructions For Coping With Tragic Loss Series

Intro: This has been a sudden loss, one which has

produced many questions in our minds. When an unexplainable tragedy strikes, God has some definite

instructions for us. Let us consider them briefly:

I. RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE THINGS WE CANNOT

UNDERSTAND.

1. We could "wrestle"with the"whys" of this

for an eternity, and still not come up with

an answer.

2. There are so many things in life that we

are not able to understand, and this tragic

event is one of them.

3. It is better to put our energy elsewhere

than to "drain ourselves" in a futile attempt

at trying to explain the unexplainable.

4. It goes against our human "grain" to simply

accept events without trying to "make sense"

of them, but this is one of those times

when we just have to accept that we are

unable to explain "why".

II. TRUST IN GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART

1. It is difficult to trust God when you

are in the midst of confusion.

2. One person said "If He could help me make

sense out of what happened, then maybe

I could trust Him."

3. We don’t have all the answers, but we can rest

in the assurance that the GOD WHO IS ALL WISE

AND ALL KNOWING, THE GOD WHO DOES ALL THINGS

RIGHT, AND IN WHOSE CONTROL OUR LIVES REST...

THAT GOD IS WORTHY OF OUR TRUST DURING OUR

CONFUSION.

4. His ways are higher than our ways...His

thoughts are higher than our thoughts...

His purposes greater than our purposes...

5. Whatever He allows, no matter how painful,

we can trust HIM to KNOW WHAT HE IS DOING.

(COMPARE JOB’S EXPERIENCE)

6. SONG: WHEN YOU CAN’T UNDERSTAND

WHEN YOU CAN’T TRACE HIS HAND...

TRUST HIS HEART!!"

7. Despite our confusion and inability to

understand what has happened, we are called

upon to TRUST GOD WITH ALL OUR HEART.

III. IN ALL OUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM

1. During times like this, one of the best

opportunities for witnessing is afforded

the Christian.

2. We can acknowledge:

a. I don’t understand

b. But God is with me

c. God’s in control of all this

d. He loves me

e. He walks beside me through this

3. And with that kind of faith demonstrated

in the midst of what we don’t understand,

there will be someone watching how we

handle this tragedy...and looking to see

if Jesus really does make a difference. This

is our opportunity to SHINE HIS LIGHT in

the midst of a dark confusing hour.

CONCLUSION: We have two choices: get bitter

or get better; give up or keep going; let God

shine through us, or give Satan the Victory in how

we react to this tragedy. Let us recognize that

there are things we don’t understand..this is one

of them...but let us TRUST GOD with all our heart

in the midst of this experience, and let us acknowledge

His presence and Power in our lives as we progress

from this point in days ahead.