What Does Tragedy
Teach Us? – Part 3
“I form the
light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.’” - Isaiah 45:7
“For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the
children of men.” – Lamentations 3:33
“And we know that all things work together for
good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His
purpose” – Romans 8:28
Many, if not most people of these United States of America, live as
though there is no God. And we in the Church have shown a tendency to
procrastinate in and neglect our walk with God. Ask yourself a question, and
answer it truthfully, when are you more inclined to pray, in hard times or easy
times? In good times or bad times? When the skies are blue, or when they are
black with the smoke of a terrorist attack? When tragedy strikes it shakes us
up from our lethargy and drops us to our knees before God. It is sad that that
is what it takes to get us on our knees, but if that is what it takes, God will
allow it.
Fifth, God
Allows Tragedy to Show Us We Need to Be Right with Him, NOW!
Read some of the following verses which talk to us about our need to be
ready and right before God, now:
- Matthew 7:24-27 - “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does
them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:25
“and the rain descended, the floods came, and the
winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded
on the rock.26 “But everyone who hears
these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man
who built his house on the sand:27 “and the
rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that
house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
“Ánd great was its fall.” The fall of the Twin Towers in New York City
pale in comparison to the crash this country will suffer at the hands of her
enemies and other things unless we repent. God allowed us to experience a
wake-up call on 9/11. There are signs of life in our nation. There seems to be
a “Great Awakening” in some quarters and to some degree. But the wake-up calls
of God, if neglected, will likely get more severe. We have seen school
shootings, 9/11, and other mass shootings. We have seen natural disasters like
massive hurricanes and flooding. I believe God loves this nation. But, “. . .
have you forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: My son, do not despise the chastening of the
LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves
He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” (Hebrews 12:5-6).
This is nothing new. God disciplines us, “for our profit, that we may be
partakers of holiness” (Hebrews 12:10). Consider this.
There seems to be a stirring in the hearts of people, a coming to truth
about things and in certain ways. There seems to be a sense that all is not
right in our nation. The political realm is part of the problem and will be
part of the solution, but it is not the answer. We need to go beyond politics.
If we settle for something less than a revival involving true repentance, what
will happen next? Will a city be lost, a county, a state, a region? Will terror
planes turn into terror chemical warfare, or nuclear terror? Will an earthquake
split our nation in two? Will it take an asteroid from outer space to get our
attention? What is it going to take to wake up this nation? What will it take
to wake you up?
You may say, “Wait a minute, those verses were written thousands of
years ago, they don’t apply to me.” But the Bible says as we get closer to the
End of time things will get “worse and worse” (1 Timothy 3:13). The world is
not going to get better, but worse, (until Jesus returns). Today is the day.
Today we need to awaken to our perilous plight.
Scripture is replete with calls to wake up, be alert, to recognize the
times in which we live. Read some of these verses:
- Luke 21:34-36 - “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be
weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that
Day come on you unexpectedly.35 “For it
will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole
earth.36 “Watch therefore, and pray always
that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come
to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
- Romans 13:11-14 – “And do this, knowing the time, that now
it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.12 The night is far
spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of
darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.13 Let us walk properly, as
in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not
in strife and envy.14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no
provision for the flesh, to fulfill
its lusts.”
- 1 Corinthians
Now is the time to get right with God (Hebrews 4). God wants us to wake
up now. He says, “And do this,
knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for
now our salvation is nearer than when
we first believed. The night is far
spent, the day is at hand.” Get into God’s word and let it get into you. Get
right with God through faith alone in Christ alone. I’m talking about something
far more than religious ritual or ceremony. I’m talking about spiritual birth,
a second birth, spiritual life (e.g. John 3). Ask God to fill you and overflow
you with the Holy Spirit. Be burdened for the lost and empowered by the Spirit
to do something about it. Get ready, because the tragedy of the World Trade
Center is not likely to be the last nation shaking tragedy this nation will
face.
Many today fail to remember, but in 1993 the Twin Towers were nearly
destroyed. For a time, we were vigilant and took precautions toward potential
terrorism. But over time we became lax and negligent as 9/11/01 attests. It’s
very similar to today. The same is true of us spiritually. We draw close to God
when a hard time comes. But as soon as He gets us over the hump, we slip back
into our easy chair and settle for coasting in our faith and being a Christian
couch potato. My friend, this should not be.
Sixth,
Tragedy Teaches Us to Pray
If we look at the book of Daniel, we see a great man of God was moved
to pray for his captive people (Daniel 9:3-19). Daniel confessed and prayed to God
for himself and his people. His heart was broken before the LORD. That is the
effect tragedy should have upon all of us. Did you pray on 9/11/01? Have you
prayed since? Are you praying now? Did you stop praying? Please pray. Pray
through to the Promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14.
Lastly,
Tragedy Teaches Us That God Can Bring Good Even from Tragedy
What good can possibly come from a tragedy such as the terrorist attacks
on September 11th? One of God’s
most incredible promises in His word is – “And we know that all things work
together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according
to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). We read such a verse in light of 9/11 and other
horrific tragedies in the world and it seems impossible. For those caught up in
the midst of tragedy such words may even seem offensive. We only begin to see
and understand the possible good God can bring from tragedy, when we see it
from God’s perspective and His purpose. God’s perspective is eternal. His perspective
is from eternity and is in light of eternity. He wants us to spend eternity
with Him. What He allows and uses in this life, though it may involve pain and
suffering, is acceptable to Him if it means it will have an eternal value for
us. Everything in this world is temporary. Our life is a vapor (James 4:14). For
us to be raised to eternal life with our loving heavenly Father, there are
times when tragedy becomes part of His plan.
God is not the Author of evil. But the reality of His creation with
beings that have the capacity to make choices, is that some of these choices
are sinful and produce evil. God can bring much good even from these
circumstances. To sinful humanity God says, “What you meant for evil, I have
used for good” (e.g. Genesis 50:20). That is what we have been seeing in this
study. God can take the horror and pain and loss and suffering of a 9/11, and
He can bring good even from that. That is miraculous. That is something only God
can do. How does God bring good from evil?
First,
people can be shaken up and wakened up to their need of salvation through faith
alone in Christ alone. Of Jesus it was
prophesied, “A bruised reed He will not break, a smoldering wick He will not
snuff out” (Matthew
- Matthew 11:28-30 - “Come to Me, all you
who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am
gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.30
“For My yoke is
easy and My burden is light.”
- Revelation
Jesus says, “Come to Me.” He says, “Open the door for Me and let Me in.”
Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). The
word “know” here is translated from the Greek term ginosko. The idea of this word “know” in the original language means
to become aware, perceive (as in
“seeing is believing”), to understand, to
be conscious of, to see something or someone as it/they truly are (not
merely opinion or speculation).
When this word is used
in the sense of knowing someone it
means:
·
To know someone personally
·
To be personally
acquainted with someone
·
To trust someone
·
To have a friendship
with someone
·
To have an intimate
personal relationship with someone
It is possible to know personally the only true God and
His Son Jesus Christ. He is the One who can get you through any and every
tragedy. Because of Him we need not fear death. Because of Him we have hope no
matter the darkness that threatens to engulf us. In light of this the question
arises, do you know Jesus?
The Good News is that we can have a personal relationship with God
through faith in Jesus Christ. Entering into such a relationship is as simple
as ABC: Admit/Ask, Believe/Receive, and Confess/Call.
Admit your
sin and ask God’s forgiveness. Our
sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). And we all have sinned and fall
short of what it takes to enter heaven (Romans 3). We need to admit this truth
before God. Once we admit our sin before God, we need to ask God’s forgiveness for our sins. This implies turning from our
sins to God (i.e. repentance). This is humbling but necessary. We come to Him
on His terms not our terms. We come humbly before God who is Awesome and Holy.
Believe
in Jesus and His atoning work. Jesus and Jesus atoning work on the
cross alone, not our efforts or
works, is the basis for God’s forgiveness of our sins. The wages or consequences
of our sin is death. Jesus died on the cross in our place, paying our
punishment and penalty for sin. God offers us salvation from our sins freely as
a gift of His grace through Jesus’ death on the cross (Romans 6:23). We are
saved from our sins because of His work not our work. To believe, trust, or put
our faith in Jesus as Savior is not a “work,” it is God’s grace working in us
(Ephesians 2:8-9). Once we believe in Jesus and His atoning work, we believe and receive forgiveness for our
sins based on Jesus and His work. God has a just basis to forgive our sins
because of Jesus justifying work on the cross on our behalf. Jesus paid our
death penalty on the cross for us. He’s the only One qualified to do that.
Jesus took our sins on Himself on the cross and when we trust in Him and His
work, He offers us His righteousness to be put to our account (cf. Isaiah 53; 2
Corinthians 5:21). God did this for us in Christ because He loves us. God is
Love with a capitol “L” (e.g. John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:8 and 16).
Confess and call.
We confess our sins to God and receive His forgiveness (1 John 1:9). But we
also confess Jesus to those around us.
We tell others about Jesus. We call
others to follow Jesus too. These are not a works that lead to salvation. This
is a fruit or evidence that salvation
has genuinely taken place in us. The Bible states, “That if you confess with
your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him
from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto
righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans
10:9-10). Look up these verses and pray over them. “So, then faith comes by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).
Don’t let this tragedy have its effect compounded for evil by driving
you away from God. Turn to Jesus and find rest for your souls and a saving
relationship that will last an eternity. That is good.
Second,
those who face tragedy in the Lord, see the reality of His sustaining
grace. If we turn to God, we will find a strong
faith that will get us through anything. And that is true of our nation as well
as for the individual. God’s grace is sufficient for whatever our need might be.
He says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in
weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). His grace is most clearly seen in our times
of weakness. We realize the reality and power of God’s grace when we need it
most, in times of tragedy. God can bring good even from tragedy if the tragedy
causes people to repent and turn to Him through faith in Christ and salvation to
experience His saving sustaining grace.
The Apostle Paul testified, “But by the
grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored
more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with
me” (1 Corinthians 15:10). Tragedies reveal the strength of God in the
believer. Tragedies provide opportunities to be more than a conqueror through Him who loved us. Wouldn’t you rather
be more than a conqueror who cannot be separated from God’s love by anything or
anyone, not even the most horrific and brutal terrorist attack in history?
That’s where I want to be, close to God, in His love, depending on Him,
forgiven. That is good and that comes from the dark contrast of tragedy (cf. Romans
8:28-39).
Third,
understand this world is not our home. The events of September
11th were filled with the darkness of smoke. But there is light here
too. The dark tragedy and evil that we have seen serves as a contrast to the
light of the blessedness of Jesus for the believer. Jesus is our blessed hope
and we look forward all the more today, after this tragedy, eighteen years
later, for His glorious appearing (Titus 2:13). This tragedy and all the other
tragedies, have made this world a little less, (maybe a lot less) palatable to
us. Maybe through tragedy we will come to realize our citizenship is not in
this world but in heaven (Philippians 3:20). That is good and that can come as
the result of tragedy.
The tragedy of the destruction of the World
Trade Center, attack on the Pentagon, hijacked and crashed planes and the
murder of thousands is a reality. This tragedy has come upon us. Now we need to
turn to God. This tragedy is the result of God’s hedge of protection being
lowered by Him to allow a wake-up call in the form of tragedy. Read the words
of the psalmist and consider:
- Psalm 80:12-19 – “Why have
You broken down her hedges, so that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?13 The boar out of the woods
uproots it, and the wild beast of the field devours it.14 Return, we
beseech You, O God of hosts; look down from heaven and see, and visit this
vine15 and the vineyard which Your right hand has planted, and the branch that You made strong for Yourself.16
It is burned with fire, it
is cut down; they perish at the
rebuke of Your countenance. 17 Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right
hand, upon the son of man whom
You made strong for Yourself.18 Then we will not turn back from You; revive
us, and we will call upon Your name.19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; cause Your face
to shine, and we shall be saved!”
We need to understand that if we do not
repent, then this tragedy, which has taken our breath away, is only the
beginning. If we do not genuinely repent, it may be the beginning of the end.
We need to repent as a nation and as
individual people. We need to pray for the victims, their families, friends,
for the firemen and policemen and EMT workers, the doctors and nurses, the
governmental leaders, our President and our nation. We cannot afford to let
this tragedy pass us by without affecting us. Read again the words of promise
for those who go to their knees:
- 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 - “When
I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour
the land, or send pestilence among My people,14 “if My people who are
called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and
turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will
forgive their sin and heal their land.”
May God help us. May God revive us. May God
bless America.
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