Tragedy

Tragedy

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I am saddened today by the horrific loss of life and unimaginable pain and suffering that has come in the senseless deaths in the Las Vegas massacre. It is not just in that massacre that causes me grief but the frequency increasing over the years.

The families who face overwhelming emotions from unbelievable pain to rage at the unthinkable acts and for some coming to inconceivable grace and forgiveness.

In John 16:33 Jesus tells us;

"I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world."

Some days that is easier to do than others when you're in the midst of the trouble. But this I know: His peace is greater than anything we could imagine.

When my youngest daughter was three (same age as this little guy) and in the hospital, I was watching them wrap her bed in padding. They were telling me that a bump to her head or to her torso and she would bleed to death. That night I spent by her side pleading, arguing, and rationalizing with God about this little girl.

My little girl.

By the end of the night God and I had an understanding.

He was God – I was not.

He was her father and she was His on loan to me.  He had her very best in His plan.  Did I trust Him?  By morning the pleading was done and the answer was yes.  I was at peace with whatever He decided.

But, I needed His help.

When I was weak the Holy Spirit in me became my strength. But, I needed to choose to trust and ask for help.  Since I came to a place of peace inside, God was able to use this circumstance to touch some other people’s lives. They saw God at work in the circumstance and these people’s lives were affected by her recovery. The doctor said there was no medical or scientific explanation for her recovery therefore he deemed her recovery a miracle.

But there was more accomplished than just her recovery. There were those that I worked with as well as a very special young man that really became a part of our family. He was a little rough around the edges.  He loved taking things to the limit and he loved our daughter so much that he made a deal with God; “If you heal this little girl God, then I will accept you as my Savior.”

He started the miracle chart that he posted in our kitchen and every day she had a blood “count” test result he marked it on the chart.  A few months later he put the last test result (healed!!) on the chart and said to God “well you did your part I’m sure not going to renege on mine.” God healed our little girl, changed some people’s lives and forever affected this young man.

The passage of time then became decades.

A few years ago, I went to his funeral. He was in his 40s and had been in a motorcycle accident. The Naval Chaplain said, “Michael had touched lives for God that he as a Chaplain never could.”

My daughter is now in her 30s with two little boys of her own. But, that one circumstance when she was three had incredible ripple effects that I would never have considered when I was in the middle of the “trouble.” I just knew that if I believed that God was in control and He had our best in His plan, then I would have peace.  I did, even when I didn’t think I could and I had a peace that was more than I could explain or understand.

There are times in our lives that we will have trouble; it is just life. Regardless of your state in life; married – single, rich – poor, with or without kids, educated or not: It is not what happens to us that means much. It is what we do with what happens to us that means everything in the world.

How we respond to what happens in our lives is our choice. People are watching, can they have hope in the midst of trouble? Can they know by our lives that God is true to His word? When we turn our weakness over to him, then others see His strength in us. The ripples begin anew.

Isaiah tell us this:

“People with their minds set on You, You keep completely whole, steady on their feet, because they keep at it and don’t quit.  Depend on God and keep at it because in the Lord God you have a sure thing.”

Isaiah 26:3 MSG

It is a choice to keep our minds steadfast and to trust. It doesn’t always come easy. Sometimes we have to ask the Holy Spirit, who lives in us to give us strength when we don’t have it. That is a choice: to ask Him for the help.

It is God’s desire that we have peace in our souls and He has given us the pathway to gain peace in the midst of trouble.  We must look to Him and to the Holy Spirit that lives in us. We need to ask Him to be strong where we are weak and know that He is in control with our best interest in His plan.

It is hard, this is true, in such a needless incident that we are facing today. For those families, our prayers go out to them. But there hard situations filled with grief and pain that many others face.

This I know God will give each and every person the grace and strength needed to get to the other side of whatever we face.

Bad things happen to good and bad people. It is a fact of our world at war. But, it is not what happens to us that defines us. It is what how we respond to what happens that determines everything.

Are we broken or better? Do we reach out or withdraw? Is God brought into those places of pain or shut out?

I have known great tragedy in my life, from illnesses to death of a husband at a terribly early age.

There is one constant through it all. God never left me or forsook me.

When I asked Him into those extremely painful places, He was right there. Pouring grace, mercy, love, wisdom, and hope into every crevice of my being. I am grateful.

I am a better person because of my circumstance and God’s unfailing love that brought me though.

Today are you willing to reach out to God and ask Him into your places of pain that you can become better rather than stuck and bitter?