When tragedy strikes you or someone else, it’s natural to have a lot of questions, especially, “Why did this happen?” But as we look into the sufferings of Job, we gain insight into dealing with tragedy in a godly way. Recorded 11/12/17
Dealing with Tragedy: Sermon Notes
Before we start speaking about tragedy, I have a video that will make us smile. (Video: baby laughing at a dog catching bubbles.) Sometimes we need something that will make us smile.
Tragedy: Event causing great suffering, distress, destruction such as a serious accident, crime or natural catastrophe.
Tragedies happen daily somewhere on the earth. Worldwide, there are 22 million refugees; ½ of them are under 18 years old. Every minute 20 people are forcibly displaced from their homes. That is 30,000 a day. All over the earth, there are people who are hungry, homeless, only have unsafe drinking water or no health care.
In the US, there have been several public attacks in the past few months. There are immigration problems. Many are challenged by bullying. Locally, at the personal level, people have suffered job loss, deaths, divorce & long term health challenges.
How do we deal with tragedy? We will not be able to cure it but can take some helpful thoughts from the book of Job. Job 1:13-18 Job lost everything over a period of time. His loss was financial, emotional & personal, to top it off.
We get bad news & sometimes we do not have resilience. When more comes, we are crushed. .
Job 1:20-22 How Job dealt with tragedy. He worshipped! He was a man of God & who loved God. His first reaction was, “Let God be praised”.
Would we sin if we had Job’s challenges? We need to have a healthy focus in tragedy: God is still God & still loving. He should be praised & doesn’t do any wrong. His character doesn’t change. Mostly we can’t understand Him. Why is it hard to respond like Job?
It is easy to have wrong thinking about God & ourselves.
- Deny wrong thinking. It is natural for us to ask “Why?” Job 3:11 & 3:20-23 “If God would tell me why, I could tolerate it better.” We have many “why” questions. We think if we have the answer, we could deal with the tragedy better. This is how we are wired! This is wrong thinking. God knows we can’t understand the why & it would be not be best for us.
- I deserve the tragedy because of my sin. Or, those people deserved the tragedy because of their sin. Job 4:6-8 Job’s friends were not always helpful! We think, “It happened because you had it coming.” Don’t we sometimes feel a little like this? “Is this challenge because of what I recently did?” Do we think it is the character of God to send tragedy our way because of our sin?
- If you live a good life then tragedy will not come your way. Job 22:4-5 We think, “If you are reverent, this tragedy would not have come your way. If I am reverent, then if tragedy does come my way, it wouldn’t be too bad.” We are promised to have trials (John 15:20). Or we think, “Tragedies & trials are different! Some are bad tragedies but God’s children only get acceptable ones?” On whose scale? “Acceptable” on whose measuring stick?
- Avoid unhelpful helping! Job 5:8 Job’s friends weren’t helping! If you are helping someone going through a tragedy, avoid “helpful thinking” like “If it were me, I would….” Don’t tell someone how you would handle a tragedy. We don’t know what we would do!
Hold on to right thinking
(pic of 3 frogs sitting on a rail & 1 who is only hanging by front legs.)
What is some right thinking?
a.God’s ways are above yours. Job 38:1-4 God comes in to set Job & his friends straight! We cannot understand God’s ways. We are incapable of understanding what He is doing. In tragedy, we sometimes have words without knowledge. We will never understand God’s plans. Our “why?” needs to come to a rest.
- Seek God, not answers. Job 42:1-3 After God spoke, Job spoke back. He repented & went for right thinking. Verses 4-6 Job now saw God at a whole different level & repented. When we see God better, we will have a better view of the tragedy. Verse 7 Everyone had been off track. (This is so easy to do!) God was upset with them.
(On screen: picture of a soccer ball) Questions: “What shape is the ball?” Round! “What shape will it be on your best day?” Round. “What shape will it be on your worst day?” Round! What about on the very best day or the darkest of your life, what shape will it be? Round! It is an unchangeable shape. No matter what kind of day you are having, the ball is round.
It is the same with God; He never changes. He has an unchanging character of being good. He is good & loving. Satan wants to change our thoughts. No tragedy should be able to change the way we see God. God is good, loving, to be praised & does not do wrong every day of our lives.
Pray for people who are going through tragedy.
