Recently, our community was affected by a very tragic loss. When things like this happen, it still has an impact on everyone in the entire area. Broadway is a close-knit community; I have found this out when we moved into the neighborhood several years ago. The close knitness of this community is one of the many things that my wife Joni and I love about this town. That closeness brings to mind a Scripture written by the apostle Paul when addressing the Corinthian church as he was edifying them:
1 Corinthians 12:26 – NKJV – And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Like the body of Christ, a close-knit, God-fearing community can have the same experience. When one suffers, we all suffer. When one rejoices, we all rejoice. When one family suffers, we all suffer. When one family rejoices, we all rejoice. So it is, I want to encourage the Broadway community and its families during this time of sorrow and loss. Scripture says this.
Proverbs 18:10 – NKJV – The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
It’s only natural to allow people time to grieve and to heal after a tragedy. God understands this. The Bible says that the Lord is a “strong tower” and the righteous run to it. During times of grief, sorrow and pain, one thing we can do is to run to the Lord. He is our strong tower and our Rock. The best thing we can do is run toward Him, not away from Him. Run to Him in the secret place of prayer (Psalm 91:1-2) and allow the shelter of His wings to comfort you.
We have a Savior that completely identifies with our pain, our grief, our joys, our triumphs, our disappointments and misunderstandings. Jesus said the following:
Matthew 11:28-30 – NLT – Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.
When times of tragedy happens and we feel overwhelmed, weary and burdened down, we can come to Him. When things happen in our lives that we don’t understand, we can come to Him. When our grief is beyond measure and we are hurting and have a varied range of emotions, we can come to Him. And here’s the promise that He gives: He gives us rest.
We may not always understand why certain things happen in our lives, even to good people that we know. We may not always have an explanation for everything or when things unexpectedly happen. But what we can do is offer our prayers, love and support and most importantly, know that God is there for us. He is the God of all comfort.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – NKJV – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
He is there when we need Him the most, always present (Psalms 46:1). So I encourage once again the exhortation of Proverbs 18 verse 10, to run to Him during these times and let Him wrap His arms of love around you to walk with you through this pain. He is faithful and will get you through this. Once again, we may not understand why things happen the way that we do.
Deuteronomy 29:29 – NKJV – “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
The answers to some things will never be known until we all reach our final destination in Heaven and the world to come. There, we will be reunited with loved ones that we lost during this lifetime in the eternal presence of God and we will be with them and Jesus forever throughout all eternity, world without end. Until that time, may God’s peace and comfort be to the family and families that suffered this tragedy. And to our Broadway community, I encourage not to let a spirit of fear grip you (2 Timothy 1:7), but let His grace, strength and peace keep you as we walk through this together.
We are Broadway strong!
God Bless.
