Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “Dealing With Tragedy”.
Tragedy is an intense form or type of trouble that can occur quickly, unexpectedly and fatally that can inflict much pain, sorrow, devastation and loss. Within ten days of each other, there were two mass shooting in the United States that took the lives of at least 10 people in one incident and 21 in the other.
They were tragic in that there was no apparent justification for someone murdering them as they were, there was no expectation that they would be targeted and murdered that day and their family, friends and community are left to mourn the loss and the departure of people who were taken from them without warning, apparent cause and in a violent and senseless manner.
It is hard enough to make sense of tragic events by understanding the why these things occur. But understanding why some things occur is not the same thing as dealing with the aftermath of their occurrence. In order to deal with the aftermath of tragedy there are several things we can recognize to help us.
Tragedy does not discriminate based on any human qualifier that can be used to distinguish one person from another. Every living person is subject to encounter tragedy. Therefore, we must not feel that we are or have somehow been singled out to experience tragedy no matter how grave. There are others who have suffered great tragedy before us and there will be those after us. We are not the first and will not be the last.
Tragic events can leave behind scars that remind us of what took place. Tragic events may not soon be forgotten if ever as some scars remain and can be seen for life. Tragic events take time to heal and recover from and the recovery time can vary from person to person. We must allow the healing to run its course and take all the time it needs and never compare the time it takes one to heal to that of another.
All of these things help us to cope and deal with tragedy once it happens. But as a person of faith, I found that the greatest and most effective way to deal with tragedy is to believe in and rest in the assurance of God that He will make everything alright.
No matter the difficulty of the situation, depth of pain and sorrow or the enormity of loss, God will fix it and make everything alright. Exactly how God will do this and when He will do this, no one really knows.
There are some clues left for us in scripture, but it doesn’t explain the whole story. This is where we are called upon to believe and have faith that God has subjected us to tragedy but He will somehow make things right for what we had no choice but to endure.
And because we cannot avoid tragedy, it should serve as a means of unifying us as we face a common and equal opportunity antagonist of humanity’s well-being and prosperity. This may be partly the reason God has subjected us to tragedy.
Christians and people of faith in the living God should unite and set aside differences we allow people and others to divide us over and begin to see all of our individual struggles in life as a common struggle for us all and this planet will live on.
By doing this, we may not be able to eliminate troubles and tragedies, but we will be able to lessen their frequency and alleviate some of their intensity.
You can hear the complete sermon by clicking the sermon title above. You can also see and listen to our previous Sunday School, Missions and BTU sessions by clicking this link. Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices to get the latest news, updates and shortcuts to all of our ministries, functions and activities.
Click the SS Daily Bible Readings for an excellent devotional and preparation for the upcoming Sunday School study. Don’t forget to leave a comment or question down below. As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.
Pastor Jordan
