For a week now we have witnessed the tragedy of thousands of acres in the Tennessee Smoky Mountains being consumed by wildfires. We’ve seen homeowners desperately fighting to save their property and over 14,000 evacuating for safety. Firefighters have worked tirelessly to stop the fires from going further. Unfortunately, at last count seven people did not make it to safety.
Since this past Friday night, we have witnessed a roaring warehouse fire in Oakland, California. Attendees at a rage concert were trapped with no escape from barred windows and no apparent smoke or fire control equipment available. At this writing, the death toll is 30, but is certain to rise.
The human toll from these tragedies is beyond comprehension. To those who have suffered loss, to the families who have lost loved ones, to the survivors who have been traumatized, to the rescuers who return every day to continue their search, and especially to those who lost their lives realizing there was no way out, my heart breaks and I grieve with them.
No one knows when storms and struggles will come, and no one knows when we will draw our last breath. What we can be totally certain of, however, is that one day in a split second our lives will change. There are a lot of people today who think faith is irrelevant. I’m not one of them. I believe faith is everything, because in my final hour, I know that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt what will happen next.
George Macdonald, author and mentor to C.S. Lewis, once wrote: “I think faith can never have a greater victory than when it will trust even in the midst of darkness and doubt and temptation.” The truth is, God’s will for us isn’t nullified by our suffering, nor does it end at the grave. A believer’s hope rests in the promise that our lives will stretch far beyond these few fleeting moments on earth, into an eternity of heavenly joy and satisfaction.
Can you say the same?
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalms 46:1
Tagged: grief and loss
