Not too long ago a massive tornado ripped through Moore, OK. Kids were crushed to death; some drowned in the basements in which they went to to seek shelter. Not too long before that bystanders to a marathon were shredded by shrapnel from backpack bombs. Not too long before that a madman reeked havoc in an elementary school in Newtown, CT, killing scores and scarring the hearts of hundreds for life.
Tragic natural disasters - tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, tsunamis.
Horrific acts of violence - bombings, shootings, rapes, abductions, planes flown into buildings.
Deeply personal afflictions - disease, depression, death - quietly suffered, unnoticed by all but those intimately involved.
Everyday occurrences. These are not rare events that we are occasionally subjected to. These are integral pieces in the puzzles of our lives. Each puzzle piece is a different part of our picture - distinct from the others, but all a part of the whole. They fit together tightly, interlocking with the joys, triumphs, disappointments, and hardships. It is in these puzzle pieces that life is lived. Every single day we work, eat, talk with others, perform tasks, drive, do both the mundane and the fantastic, in, through, and informed by these puzzle pieces.
As Christians we have to ask, "Where is God in this puzzle? Where does He fit in these horrible moments? Is He absent from these puzzle pieces, withdrawing to allow this suffering? Is He not that God that we sing about who never fails?"
No, He is not absent. He is very present. Psalm 46:1 says, "[He] is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."
Why does He allow evil, horrible, difficult things? Sometimes we can grasp some understanding, but as a dear friend and pastor pointed out, there's not always a "why," sometimes there's just an "is." Sometimes horrible things just are. But God, who is rich in mercy and love, through His grace has provided a solution. He can move into a bad situation and bring good. He can move into death and bring life. And so if you live a life characterized by following after Him, you may not ever get a satisfactory answer to the "why", but He will be faithful to be an ever-present help, providing refuge and strength when the unthinkable happens.
If tragedy has not hit you yet, it will. Prepare now. Dig into His Word now. Study it. Know it. Understand it. In this way, when life's shrapnel shreds your soul, you will not falter and wither away. Instead you will stand firm in the midst of great suffering and pain in the knowledge of who God is, what He has done, and what He has promised He will do, and He will bring life and peace again.
"Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness
or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." -The Apostle Paul, Romans 8:35-39
"Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging." Psalm 46:2-3
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