Dave’s Monday Blast – July 2, 2018

As Independence Day approaches this year, we have many reasons to be thankful, but there’s also cause for concern as we observe the tragedies that have happened in our country this past year. When we hear of school shootings, terror attacks, and bombings that take innocent lives, political rancor, or natural disasters aside, we may wonder where God is in all of this. Why does He allow these tragedies? Couldn’t He do something to prevent them?

The most basic answer to these questions is that we live in a fallen world. Disasters, crime, evil, violence, hatred, and death are the result of sin, which entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Everything and everyone has been affected by it, and none of us are exempt.

Yet knowing this, we may still question why God allows these tragedies to occur. If He’s good and loving, wouldn’t He protect His creation from harm? The truth is there are some things in life we will simply not be able to understand. In Isaiah 55:8 – 9 God says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, not are your ways My ways’ … ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.'”

So how are we to respond to tragedies when we don’t understand what God is doing?

Pastor Charles Stanley shares four strategies. We will consider the first this week and three the following week:

1. For believers, our first response should be to TRUST God (Proverbs 3:5). It’s easy to trust Him when we can feel His loving hand reaching out to strengthen and guide us. But when God’s wisdom and purposes transcend out limited minds, and we aren’t capable of comprehending His ways, we must rely on what He has told us about Himself in His Word and trust Him like small children trusting their parents.

We need to get into God’s Word to see what He says about Himself. And the best time to do this is before tragedy strikes so we’ll have a firm foundation to support us in times of need Once we have a biblically accurate view of God, we will understand how to respond and go through calamity because we’ll know the God who loves us and holds us in His sovereign hand.

On Sunday the 24th, Pastor Steve Kellar shared with us some powerful Biblical truth on this topic. I would encourage you to go to the website (auburngrace.com) and listen to the podcast if you were not in attendance.

Next week…we will consider the ideas of courage, compassion and perspective.

Even though our nation has experienced increasing evil and the resulting calamities, we can still rejoice in the freedoms we currently have to worship God and share the gospel. Let’s thank the Lord for these blessings as we celebrated the Fourth of July this year.