Godly Responses To Calamity And Pain

Let's pray together. Father, we have come together to worship You, and in that worship we have sung, we have confessed our sins, we have heard the Gospel, we have heard Your Word. Now we pray that You would help us to listen to Your voice. Father in a world that seems to have gone mad in violence and horror we tend to forget that you are sovereign king that nothing happens in this world apart from your divine plan we forget and we despair at times we lose hope I pray Father you give your people hope today help us Lord as we think through these things with the word of God in hand that we might be the representatives of God in this dark world.

I pray, Lord, that you would help us so that we have the categories and the understanding to be able to give answers and that, Father, your name would be honored and glorified as a result, that the Savior Jesus would be exalted, that the power of the Spirit would be seen in us. So grant us in this hour now that we would hear what you have to say and listen and believe and speak. Help us in Jesus' name.

Amen. Well, Wednesday dawned like any other day in Parkland, Florida. The buses arrived at school. The children were walking in the hallways. No doubt there was lots of the normal hustle and bustle of life that it is in high school. The day went on.

A fire drill happened. Everybody emptied into the hallways and went outside, I'm sure, and then back to class again, and the classes went on as normal, but then near the end of the day, the fire alarm went off again, and so everybody left the class, and pretty soon there was shots heard as Nicholas Cruz just started shooting people as they came out of their classrooms for the fire drill. Soon, 17 people were dead and 15 more were injured.

People like Chris and Gina and Nicholas and Aaron, Alyssa. Most of them were probably 14 or 15. This was in the freshman building of the school. And sometime that day parents and a few spouses received the horrifying notice that someone they loved had died We in Ohio, removed from the tragedy in Florida, are also dumbfounded. We didn't have to be there.

We were all just dazed, thinking about something like that. And what should we think, we're asking, and what should we do if that ever happened here? because we all know that the day could dawn just like any other day and the buses could arrive just like any other day and someone could come into the school and start shooting. Well, that's something we need to think about.

This morning we need to ask the question, how should God's people respond when faced with the dark providences of God? Now, we may not have someone ever come into Elgin and shoot up our schools. That may never happen. but all of us are going to face dark providences there's going to be times in our lives where we're just going to be dumbfounded at what's happening and the things that we hear the diagnosis that we hear the news that someone we love has been killed in a car accident the fact that maybe someone one of our children dies tragically or from disease we're all going to be faced with some kind of dark providence that's the nature of life in this sin cursed world how should we respond?

Well, here's the first thing I would say. Sometimes we need to respond with faith-driven questions. We need to respond with faith-driven questions. Now, there are wrong ways. There are wrong ways to respond to hardship. There are ways that are just plain wrong.

I can remember being in a funeral one time and the pastor getting up and saying this, it's okay to be angry with God. He's a big boy. He can handle it. He has broad shoulders. and I was that dumbfounded me as I sat there because to be angry with someone is to judge that they have wronged you or done something wrong that's where our anger comes from either I've been wronged or some rule has been violated or something wrong has happened and to say that it's okay to be angry with God is to say it's okay to judge to sit in judgment of God and to say that he's done something wrong.

That is not the way to respond to hardship. Nor is this a response that we should have One again that I recently heard Okay well God is accomplishing a sovereign plan We ought to rejoice, right? If a friend of mine lost her husband, I would walk into the room and I would say rejoice. God's plan is being accomplished. That is wrong too, you know? because by doing that we deny the reality of a sin curse world and we deny our very humanity god never expected us to handle life like that he never expected us to be these emotionless robots who who can't feel anything god didn't create us that way and because he created us the way we are and we live in a sin curse world to not feel the the weight of sin and evil is just not the way God created us.

It's to deny our humanity. Cold, fake stoicism is not the answer either. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm 13 to see how God teaches us to respond to tragedy and to hurt. Psalm 13. I remember this psalm came alive for me as I sat with a pastor friend who was so depressed he said he wanted to end his life. and he was depressed because as he looked around this is what he saw in particular here is a woman in my congregation who is suffering incredible pain and I asked God God please heal her or take her home don't let her endure this pain and God's answer was let her to endure the pain and that was like the tipping point for him I don't want to go on living if that is what God is like.

And I can tell you, and I can remember sitting with him in my office and opening the Word of God to Psalm 13. And you know what? This is when he started getting some hope. Now listen to what Psalm 13 says and ask, how do you get hope from this? Just watch. Let's look at the first four verses.

How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? how long will you hide your face from me how long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day how long shall my enemy be exalted over me consider and answer me O Lord my God Light up my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death Lest my enemy says I have prevailed over him. Lest my foes rejoice, because I am shaken. In the face of a calamity, questions always intrude in our thoughts.

Why, God? Where were you, God? How could you have let this happen, God? This is not fair, God. No one deserves this, God. And the questions erupt in our minds as we're faced with this almost overwhelming tragedy.

As we look at the violence that happened there. These questions come to mind. But look, notice in this psalm that God gives voice to our questions. He actually gives us the questions to ask. and he does it through David who is described as a man after God's own heart. David was no stranger to tragedy, heartache, and violence. He lost two sons by violence.

He lost another son when it was a baby, when that little boy was a baby. He is not unfamiliar with tragedy, not even violent tragedy. He's not unfamiliar with it. Listen to his words because they are also ours. God, it seems like you've forgotten me. It seems like you are hiding your face from me.

That's what he says. God, this is the way it looks to me right now. Where are you? This is not the God that I thought was here. Where are you? Why have you left?

It's like you're hurting and you call your friend and she won't answer the phone. And so you drive over to her house only to see her peek through the window and get in her car and drive away. And you're saying, oh my Lance, why isn't my friend there? Why is she doing this to me? God, it looks like, David says, God, it looks like you're ignoring me. God, it appears to me that you're turning the other way.

Where are you? He says, God, my mind churns with turmoil. It won't stop. My mind won't stop. It produces nothing but sorrow. My thoughts are like two wrestlers competing against each other.

I was thinking about this yesterday as we were at the wrestling tournament. And you see, as the wrestlers shake hands and as they start, they almost invariably tie up, as they say. And they're grabbing each other's wrists. right? And they get each other and they're just struggling. And that's the picture he draws of two guys grappling, trying to struggle.

God is good, says one thought, and another comes right away and challenges it. If he's so good, then why did this happen? Why is there this kind of suffering? And one thought says, God, please bring comfort. And another replies, but why didn't you prevent this anguish in the first place? And so there's these thoughts that just constantly wrestle and they grapple and it produces sorrow and turmoil.

And David says, I'm worn out with sorrow. My thoughts won't give me rest. He says, my enemy will triumph over me. God, it seems like this shooter gets to do what he wants and nothing happens. It's going to happen to him, God. He's going to triumph. and so we along with David in the intensity of our pain cry out answer me God or I will die do you realize as you read those first four verses that those are the words that Jesus could take upon his very own lips Jesus can take those words upon his very own lips he experienced the violence of a crucifixion do you realize that?

Jesus knows what violence is all about he experienced it himself He experienced the violence of crucifixion and he was alone. And he was alone and in torment he cries out on the cross, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Taken upon his lips the very words of Psalm 22 of another man who had experienced what seemed like God's abandonment of him. Except in this case, in the case of Jesus, it really happened.

He was abandoned by God. It appears as well. when you look at Jesus, it appears that His enemies had triumphed. And maybe, you know, He could say from the cross, my enemies have triumphed. But yet God gives us hope. Let's read the rest of this psalm. But I have trusted in Your steadfast love.

My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me in the midst of breaking hearts and sorrow and confusing thoughts and what appears to be a distant God we can have hope God gives us hope. In the fog of all this tragedy, a beacon cuts through the bright light of God's unfailing love. God's unfailing love.

When God does not give us the answers, He does say this, trust in my steadfast and my unfailing love. steadfast love covenant love that is God's love is not turned by the the whims of emotion it's not turned by how we are he has covenanted he has promised to love us he can do that because of Christ he can promise to love us forever and never waver in his love he says when I don't give you answers then trust in my steadfast love trust in my unfailing love now that love is more than an idea of just God saying, by the way, I love you. It goes beyond that. You know, when sometimes I can get down, right?

Yeah. I know it's hard for you to imagine me ever being up, but my wife, my wife used to tell me that my neutral face, what I called my neutral face, looks like you could kill somebody. So I'm sure I, but you know, when I would be down, she would say sometimes honey I love you does that help well most of the time it did sometimes it didn't right you know how that is don't you you know somebody loves you but just sometimes it just doesn't make any difference but God's unfailing love listen God's unfailing love isn't just saying God God saying I love you God's unfailing love is wrapped up in a person you see I know God loves me why because he gave his son that's the point isn't it he gave his son God's love is unfailing because he's so determined to love us that he actually sent his son.

And the words that stand out in my mind are the words of the prophet Isaiah when Isaiah says that this God, crushed by his will, crushed his own son. That's amazing. He crushed his son. How do I know God loves me? Because he took out the judgment that I deserve on his own son. He sent His one and only Son into this world of sin, shame, and tragedy.

And in all of that you must remember that God is no stranger to tragedy You know we think of God as this far off distant deity sitting on his throne watching these horrid events unfold And yet, God doesn't sit up there and watch these horrid events unfold. What happens? He actually takes on human flesh and enters the stream of human experience so that he can experience the same things as well. the second person of the trinity experienced the horrors of violence in this world he witnessed it he was an object of violence you know when we tend to think that god does not understand you need to understand that god has felt what we have what does the book of hebrews say it says that we have a high priest who can do nothing but sympathize with us.

Why? Because He has experienced everything that we have. And so what those folks, what those victims felt in their last moments of life in Florida, Jesus has felt. And what their parents felt, Jesus has felt. Jesus has experienced it. And I know God's love is unfailing because not only did he send his son into the very stream of human experience, but he sent his son to rescue us from our sin.

He sent his son to rescue us from our sin. We're not looking to love God. The Bible makes that clear, doesn't it, in 1 John chapter 4. It's not that we love God, it's that God loved us. He took the first steps towards us. He took those first steps by sending his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sin.

He sent his son so that we might live. Stories told of Jesus in John chapter 11. John chapter 11. Remember the story. Jesus' friend Lazarus has died. He has two sisters, Mary and Martha.

Martha comes out and says to him, Jesus, if you'd been here, my brother wouldn't have died. Right? Jesus, you could have changed everything. Jesus, I know you. You could have changed everything. If you'd shown up two days ago, he'd be alive today because we know what you can do.

We know you could have changed this whole scenario but you didn You didn show up And when he comforted Martha he says these really strange words Martha I am the resurrection and the life He who believes in me will live even though he dies. Amazing words. Amazing words. He comforts her by pointing to himself. now if you think Jesus was just another man then Jesus is playing a really bad joke at that point, isn't he? can you think of anything more cruel than a man pointing at himself and saying I'm the resurrection and life but he's not just a man, is he? he's God the son and he's raised from the dead and death and tragedy don't have the final word so that we can say my enemy will triumph over me we can say oh no, no he won't no he won't death does not have the final word Jesus does and Jesus guarantees the unfailing love of God he says in verse 5 my heart rejoices in your salvation salvation means rescue God looks like God it looks like you've forgotten me but in fact I know there's salvation in you I know you will rescue me and you know what you know God will ultimately rescue you because his son was not ultimately left in the grave was he his enemy did not triumph over him God raised him from the dead and did you hear the apostle Paul today when he says the afflictions that we suffered in our ministry were so incredibly difficult we thought that the judgment of death had been passed on us but who do we rely in we rely in the God who raises the dead did you hear that how can he say that with confidence because God raised His Son from the dead.

And so death is not the final word. In Christ we find permanent rescue. God in Christ rescues us. Jesus calls on people to believe in Him and He will raise them from the dead. And so with David, who began with, how long, O Lord, we can say, I will sing to the Lord, he says. I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Right now I'm not singing, but I know I will. I will sing. So the first response is faith-driven questions. These are not... using God of anything. They're saying, God, I don't understand. And God says, trust me.

Trust me. You should respond by examining your own hearts at times like this. Examining your own hearts. Turn to Deuteronomy chapter 8. Here is Moses speaking to the people of Israel. And as he addresses them, this is what he says, the whole commandment that I command you today, Deuteronomy 8 verse 1, the whole commandment that I command you today, you shall be careful to do that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers and you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these 40 years in the wilderness that he might humble you testing you to know what is in your heart whether you would keep his commandments or not and he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Your clothing did not wear out on you, and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. Examine your heart to see the nature of your faith. In times like this, examine your heart. What's the nature of your faith? And here's what God says, examine to find out that faith.

Is it a faith that clings only to the visible things of the world, that is no faith at all? Or does it believe what God says in His Word? He says, I put you through this so that you would understand that you don't depend on bread, but you depend on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Where is your trust? Is it in God? Is it in what he says?

When all the pleasurable and good things of life disappear, when God takes what you hold dear, will you still worship and obey God? Will you still trust what he says? Hear the striking words of Job from Job 29. Listen to what Job said. Here's Job in the midst of his suffering and he says, How I long for the months gone by for the days when God watched over me when his lamp shone upon my head and by his light I walked through darkness Oh for the days when I was in my prime when God intimate friendship blessed my house, when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me, when my path was drenched with cream and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.

You hear what he's saying? I remember those days. You remember he lost all his children. I remember those days when God's face shined on me and I had my children around me at the table when everything was going well and now everything's gone. See, suffering exposes the unbelief and self-worship of our hearts. In the face of tragedy, there's much that there's no answers and God doesn't give us answers at like this.

Oftentimes he gives us no answers at all. There's no immediate answer. And like Job, God does not answer your questions. You realize that? God never answered Job's questions. Job said, God, why are you doing this to me?

God never told him. The nature of your faith is revealed when you trust God when he is silent. When you trust God when he is silent. that will show the nature of your faith. You don't just examine your heart to see the nature of your faith. You examine your heart to see what sins come to the top. What sins float to the top.

Okay? Look at Job for a moment. God says he was a blameless man. But by the end of the book, God rebukes him and says in Job 38, who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge he says to he says to job brace yourself like a man i will question you and you will answer me you see because job when you start when you read the story of job he's a blameless man and he can't figure out what's happening and he's got all these great friends who are telling him it's your fault and Job says, it's not my fault.

You can't point to anything that brings this on. And then he starts sliding into this thing saying God you got to give me an answer And so God says okay I going to question you now and you going to answer me And Job response was this I abhor myself and repent with dust and ashes What was it that he did What sin floated to the top in this horrible trial Turn to Job chapter 30 just for a moment. Job chapter 30.

Listen to the words of Job in the midst of his suffering. Job 30, starting in verse 20. I cry to you for help and you do not answer me. I stand and you only look at me. You've turned cruel to me. With the might of your hand you persecute me.

You lift me up on the wind, you make me ride on it, and you toss me about in the roar of the storm. For I know that you will bring me to death and to the house appointed for all living. Next chapter. Jump over to chapter 31. verse 35 oh that I had one to hear me in other words God you're not listening here's my signature let the almighty answer me oh that I had the indictment written by my adversary surely I would carry it on my shoulder I would bind it on me as a crown I would give him an account of all my steps like a prince I would approach him God you're not giving me the answers he wanted God to give him an answer.

He wanted God to justify his actions. And listen, when tragedy strikes, the real you comes to the top. Never forget that. When the pressure is on, the real you comes to the top. You know, I can remember starting with Jans when my kids were in sixth grade. They always had the sixth grade trip to Camp Ohio.

And I always went. I was known as a lifer because I went whether my kids were there or not. And we'd go to be chaperones and we had to teach a few classes. I always had stream study. But one thing was the rope course where they had this rope course up in these trees. Oh, they were pretty high, probably at the top of the shades there is about where they were.

And they'd hook everybody up so no one would fall. And they would have this rope course. they would have to go up rope ladders and go across these spans on a rope, hanging on to other ropes. I mean, you know. And it was fascinating to me to see all the big sixth grade cool guys right They were really cool They were the popular guys they get up on the rope course they go oh please help me i want to get down oh i love that part i love that part and you know they'd be up there and they'd be whining and crying and unless it was one of my kids then i got mad but but what was interesting about that whole thing is the real you comes out when the pressure's on, right?

These cool, cool guys, right? They weren't as cool as they thought. Inside, they're big babies, right? And so what happens is when we go through tough times, right? When we go through tough times, the real you comes out. What sin floats to the top when the pressure's on?

What sin floats to the top? such discoveries make us think less of ourselves and make us think more about jesus and his cross you see let that happen to you when the pressure's on and the tragedy strikes and the sin floats to the top flee to the cross you look to the cross you look there there's your hope you're saying god this is me i can't believe it i didn't know this was in me oh jesus thank you for dying for me. We ought to respond with a greater understanding of God's grace. We ought to respond with a greater understanding of God's grace.

Turn to Luke chapter 13 now. Luke 13. When hardship comes, when tragedy strikes, and dear people, I say to you now, every one of you here are going to face the dark providences of God. Every one of us here are going to feel the difficulty of life in this world. There isn't anybody that's going to escape the curse of sin around us, not just in us, but around us.

And so I plead with you, learn these lessons now. Learn these lessons now. All right? We respond with faith-driven questions. We respond by examining our hearts. We ought to respond with a greater understanding of God's grace.

Verse 1 of Luke 13. There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

Or those 18 in whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. And he told this parable. A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, Sir, look, for three years now I've come seeking fruit on the fig tree and I find none.

Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground? And he answered him, Sir, let it alone this year also until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good, but if not, you can cut it down. Now what is Jesus saying here? How have you responded when you hear someone else going through hardship?

I have no doubt in my mind that somewhere across this country, someone is going to be preaching this day and saying, judgment of God, right? Those people must have been bad, else that wouldn't have happened. Do you think that God was judging them because of their sins, that maybe they experienced misfortune because they were sinners? Jesus says, whenever you hear of someone else facing calamity, don't think that they are worse than you. think I better repent.

You see? See, Jesus is teaching, and evidently Pilate had whacked up some people who were offering their sacrifices, had killed them, and then in another part of the country, they were reading in the newspaper that day, that a tower fell on some people. And so other people are going, wow, they must have been sinners. And Jesus is saying to them, oh, no, don't think they're worse than you.

Don't think they're worse than you. That's going to happen to you too. You're going to face the terror of judgment. You still have time to repent. You see? And then he tells that parable about the fig tree.

He says, in fact, you have to see this as evidence of, this is an evidence of God's grace in your life. Look, when others experience calamity, Jesus says, and you do not, then the axe has not been laid to your roots yet. You like the tree And the gardener says leave it alone Maybe it will produce fruit in the coming year And so Jesus says when calamity comes upon someone else you should see that God has given you more time to repent He's given you time.

He's given you time to believe the Gospel and to produce fruit. Don't look at other people. Look at yourself. God's being gracious to you. Lastly, we ought to respond. we ought to respond with a longing for glory. In Romans chapter 8, you know the words from verses 18 and 19.

The Apostle Paul writes, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that shall be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. suffering reminds us that the world does not keep its promises the curse should keep us from loving the world too much when you think your satisfaction is going to be found here and you're driving your roots deep into this age understand that the world will not keep its promises of fulfillment and joy. It cannot.

When you drive those roots deep into this age and think that your fulfillment will be found, now tragedy strikes and you find that it isn't what it promised. The curse is going to keep you from loving the world too much. We are living in a world that is surrounded by the curse of sin. We are surrounded by the curse of sin in this world. And we see these sort of violent things happen And it ought to remind us this.

That's what happens in this world. Populated by sinners who will do horrible things and evil and wicked things. But there's coming a day when there will be no more. No more evil. No more violence. No more gossip.

No more anything like that. I don't know about you, I can't even fathom that. Can you? Every day with nothing evil anywhere Tragedy automatically anywhere Anywhere Tragedy ought to make us dissatisfied with this world and anticipate eternity. We look less to the cause of suffering. And that's what the world's going to do, right?

That's what's going to happen. I'll predict it right now. It's already started. They're going to ask, why did this happen? And listen, they're never going to come up with the right answer because they'll start asking the wrong questions. They're going to ask, why did this boy do that?

Was it his family? Was it the tragedies that struck in his life, his mother dying in November? What was it? What caused it? And the category they will not think of is this. He did it because he's wicked. he's did it because he's evil no no no we we don't have that kind of category and so they'll be looking for the cause but be looking in the wrong places all right but we ought to stop looking we ought to look less at the cause of suffering and more to the risen victorious christ who already is experiencing the age to come and who has promised us that we will experience all of the fruits of that age when he returns.

I love these words. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, now the dwelling of God is with men and he will live with them.

They will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away. This week should cause us to look to glory more Dear people of God dark providences will be visited upon us We are going to experience it in this congregation.

Now is the time to understand these things and to be prepared. To be prepared. There are going to be times where you're going to say, where are you God? It just doesn't look like you're here. And that's okay. You don't blame God.

You say, God, I don't get it. And many times we won't. But we can rely on a steadfast love. You see? We need to examine our hearts. What's the nature of our faith?

When tragedy comes, what sin floats to the top? What's happening? We ought to look to God's grace. We ought to have a greater understanding of God's grace and say, Lord God, you love me. This is hard. Show me your grace.

It should cause us to long for heaven. If you don't get a vision of heaven in a week like this, then our roots are sunk way too deep. God help us when we face dark providences. Father, thank you. you have promised us your steadfast love and we know it because you sent your son jesus and you have called upon us to find rescue in him god i pray for those all of us who are here that we would look to jesus as the ultimate rescue that without the conquering of our sin without the forgiveness of our sin.

There is no glory. Lord, for those who are here today who have never, never looked to Jesus to save them, I pray that they would look around them and see what this world offers and look to Jesus and see what He promises. God, help us as Your people to be able to wrap our arms around those folks who are asking why and to weep with them for a while. And then, Lord, by Your grace, kindly, gently shepherd them to You. help us when the dark providences are part of our lives that we would remember these things now father we thank you your word opens up a whole universe of understanding to us we are not left dark and blind in these tragedies we have answers thank you for loving us like that.

In Jesus' name, Amen.