When Tragedy Strikes a Church Family

It seems that at times a congregation takes one hit after the other. Deaths in the congregation, tragic accidents that leave a member paralyzed, numerous families losing their jobs to the recession, and the list goes on and on. One can't help but stand in disbelief of the never ending grief that this causes. The hardest thing is to understand why. Why!

But I realize that my job as a believer in Jesus Christ is to have faith. Yes, I can think about the many reasons of why this would happen, but I will exhaust myself and most likely never come up with a definite reason. I, as a mere speck on the face of this globe, will never be able to fully know why God permits such things.

When I imagine myself looking through God's lens at this world, I realize how undeserving I am of even turning my face towards heaven and asking "Why?" But God gave me His answers in His Word. What my human grain of a brain does understand is that the church is the body of Christ. Unity is needed in His body, but when there is disunity, God corrects.

What I see is the transformations that occurs in the body of Christ.Through the pain and sorrow, a people come together and unite as a family. Helping hands reach out to those that were forgotten and needy. Selfish needs take the last row of priorities-others are priority now. Money going to personal needs is now redirected to where God needs them at the moment. In a time of trials, God can teach numerous lessons at once. But we are perfected, we are made better after our walk in the valley of the shadows. I am not a prophet nor am I giving an answer in how to interpret trials. All I can do is direct you, dear reader, to the Bible through which we can glimpse in God's lens.

Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil, and let us see what we are made of. -Charles Spurgeon