Finding Comfort When Tragedy Strikes
September 12, 2001 / Dr. Marty Baker
Stevens Creek Community Church / Augusta, GA
www.stevenscreek.net
Introduction:
Confusion ..... Shock .... Despair...... Disbelief ...... permeated the nation yesterday as we watched the reports from the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. As the drama developed people were dazed at the mayheim ... speechless ... wondering when will the violence stop.
Who would do such a thing? Why? Why? Why kill innocent people? As the day progessed, it became evident that hundreds and possibly thousands of people met an violent untimely death. Their families were looking foward a beautiful Autumn, Thanksgiving together, and sharing special moments at Christmas; now they are forced to grieve and pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.
We say to ourselves, "This can’t be true. Somebody tell us that this is a big mistake! This is tragic." But, it is true, and now we and millions of people across this land are mourning the loss of these people. It is so senseless.
I’ve heard some say, "How could God allow this to happen?" We have to understand that there are good and evil forces at work in this world. The highjacking of these four planes and and the crashes associated with them are examples of the worst kind of evil there is - the killing of innocent people, innocent Moms and Dads, sons and daughters, faithful citizens and civil workers.
Now, we and thousands of Americans are forced with the job of coping with tragedy. How do we do it?
What do we do when tragedy strikes? We hurt.
We hurt when we have to confront the tragedy of betrayal - the tragedy of divorce.
We hurt when we have to face the tragedy that our children have become drug addicts.
We hurt when we deal with the tragedy of bankruptcy.
We hurt when we get the tragic news that the tumor is malignant and the prognosis is not good.
We hurt when we experience the finality of a loved one’s death.
What Should You Do When Tragedy Strikes?
1. Put Your Faith in God.
When one thinks about sustaining faith, he can learn from the story of Job. The Bible says that Job was a perfect man, a righteous man, a man who turned from evil. Nonetheless, in one fell swoop everything that had meaning and purpose or made sense for Job was lost.
The Sabeans rustled all his oxen and donkeys and killed all the herdsmen.
Fire struck the sheep and the shepherds and burned them up.
The Chaldeans raided the camels, carried them off, and put all the drivers to death.
A whirlwind swept across the desert, struck his eldest son’s house, and killed all of Job’s sons and daughters while they were dining.( Job 1:13-19)
To top if off, Job broke out in running sores from head to foot, and in disgust his wife said to him. "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!" (Job 2:9)
There he was. Job the righteous. Job the affluent. Job the successful. Job the powerful. Everything was gone. His world had crashed. Everything was wiped out.
What would you do? What would you do if you lost it all? What would you do if your children were taken from you? What would do if your spouse said, "Curse God and die?"
Look at Job and his response. Here was a sick man sitting in an ash pile. Notice his action: "Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshipped" (Job 1:20).
He remembered the source of His strength. He remembered the hope of his future. He remembered that God said that He would never leave him nor forsake him. It is rather strange, isn’t it? Everything was lost, and Job fell down on the ground and worshipped.
In essence, Job is saying, "Even though, tragedy has struck my life and I’ve lost it all, I trust God and I know that everything will be all right." We read in ....
Job 19:25,26
For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God.
My focus today is to encourage you to keep your faith and to remind you that you are not alone. I believe that God will supply us with a power that is greater than ourselves to bring us through the difficulties that we face.
What did Job do? He was a sick man sitting in an ash pile. ........
2. Pray About The Situation.
Notice his action:
Job 1:20
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship
It is rather strange, isn’t it? Everything was lost, and Job fell down on the ground and worshipped. In essence, he is saying, "Even though, I’ve lost it all, I trust God and I know that everything will be all right."
Job 19:25,26
For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God.
When you feel like you’ve Exhausted All Possibilities, Remember this: You Haven’t!
Prayer takes you beyond the limits, prayer steps over the boundaries, it surpasses the limiting factors, it causes you to rise above the hindrances, it helps you to cope with the uncontrollable - Because when you pray, you are connecting with the All-powerful, all mighty God.
Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
But how are we to accomplish this? Sometimes it seems so futile. (personal illustration)
Sometimes we feel that same sense of futility, particularly when we are confronted with a tragedy over which we have no control. It is in these moments that we recognize the importance of hammering out a transcendent faith even in the midst of extreme frustration.
3. Express Your Complete Trust in God.
That is where faith comes in. You have to believe that His word is true. You have to trust. There are four things that I want to share with you about trust:
a. When we trust God, we can expect God to work all things out for good.
Whatever is going on, we must remember that God is working out for your good. I am not saying that everything that happens to you will be good. There will be pain. There will be suffering. But, I believe that God takes those pains and blends them with His grace and produces good out of bad situations.
In the darkest moments of our lives together, Patty and I have claimed ...
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Many times we have had to say, "God we do not understand it; We don’t like it; but we put our trust in you and we believe that you will work all things together for our good."
The Bible gives hope into difficult situations. The Word of God can transform you and give you the energy to press on in the face of your opposition. You can press on with confidence that God is going to make everything good.
b. As we trust God, we can expect God to finish what he has begun in our lives.
God is not in the business of doing things half way. God wants to see a complete job. He is working in you and working out His salvation in your life. We can stand together with Paul in
Philippians 1:6
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
We can be confident that God’s word is true. God will finish what he started. Don’t lose hope. Put your confidence in Him.
c. As we trust God, we can expect the Spirit to make intercession when we are having problems.
Jesus is our advocate. In John 14, Jesus said, "I will not leave you as orphans, but I will send you a comforter, the Holy Spirit. He will be with you and will walk along side of you." The Holy Spirit is provided to make intercession when we are having problems. We see in .....
Romans 8:26-27
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our heart knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
God’s Spirit will connect with your spirit and everything will be all right.
d. As we trust God, we can expect God to keep us in His love.
God will keep you in his love. Paul says in
Romans 8:35, 37-39:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or the sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, angels nor demons, things present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Too often we concentrate more on the negative and forget to consider the positive. We look at the difficulty, the despair and the problems of our day, and say that there’s no use. We are tempted to give up.
Every end is a new beginning. Don’t let phases faze you. Phases are passages. And passages are never dead ends. What looks like the end of the road will turn out to be a bend.
Philippians 3:13,14
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
The transcendent approach makes us understand that whole, unbruised, unbroken persons are of little use to God. The only way we can learn love is through the circumstances of life that mold us into the pliability that allows love to operate. It is a type of love that is giving of self without regard for receiving in return.
Once we learn this lesson of the transcendent life, the very meaning of 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 comes alive in a new and literal way:
2 Corinthians 1:3-5
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
We are not immune from tragedy and neither are we alone. Call on God. He wil be with you.
Closing Prayer
