I'm feeling especially sentimental today as I reminisce about June 25, 1988. On this day a quarter of a century ago, I lost my brother and his wife to a fatal car accident. Life hasn't been the same. That defining moment shaped who I am and where my life is today--from, literally who I married to my testimony of God's goodness when I speak at gatherings. I would not choose such a tragedy in order to accomplish the last 25 years, but I do recognize how God has used that horrific event for His glory time and time again.
We've heard it said that tragedies can likely either bring people closer together or push them further apart, and I believe this pertains to peoples' faith in God as well. My family could have chosen the road of hard-heartedness toward the woman who was responsible for the accident or tried to escape one another when confronting our own pain as well as one another's was just too difficult to endure. We could have cursed God and abandoned our faith in Him and His Sovereignty. I am thankful I can say today, 25 years later, satan did not have his way!
Instead, we soaked in every testimony of how my brother and his wife had touched a life. We understand that several of their peers recommitted their lives to Christ. Their story was included in a book and we anticipate hearing one day in Heaven the stories of those who were encouraged by the words of that author, pastor, and friend. My mom led numerous grief classes over the years touching likely hundreds of lives, many turning to Christ for the first time as a result. For myself, it was the catalyst for me to break off a destructive engagement and transfer colleges, which eventually led me to my husband, for which I'm so very grateful. I wish our family would not have had to endure the pain of these last 25 years. I wish my children and husband could have met my brother. However, I know God has used the tragedy for His glory so my soul is at peace and I, too, can sing the song sung at their funeral--albeit with tears in my eyes--"Because He lives, I can face tomorrow!"
Just because we serve God Who can do anything, does not mean He will keep hardships and injustice away from His children. Joseph had been betrayed by his brothers, and yet he declared, "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good" (Genesis 50:20). With all the tragedy Job endured, never once did he curse God (Job 3:1), and God blessed Job's faithfulness by lavishing on him more than before. To be a true follower and servant of God means we are to have the same heart of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when faced with a "fiery furnace:" "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us...But even if He does not, we want you to know...that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up"--in other words, they would not deny their God. Their commitment to God, even when all looked hopeless, proved to changed the heart of a king and the course of history. "King Nebuchadnezzar said, 'Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in Him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way'" (Daniel 3:28-29).
When we can look loss and hopelessness and tragedy in the face and, with a soft and pure heart, still recognize God as Almighty Deliverer and Restorer, God will show His faithfulness in our heart and even the circumstances surrounding us. Our hearts my break to the point of seeming disrepair. But when we cry out to God and place our confidence in Him, He promises to use those trials to bring Him glory, and in doing so, will bring light and peace and healing to our soul. Like the three friends, we are able to be a testimony of God's faithfulness where hard hearts and stubborn wills of onlookers may turn and bow to the sovereignty of the one true God.
Satan tries his hardest to use circumstances against us, to cause us to lose faith and question God's authority. Ephesians 5:15-17 says, "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is." If we determine in our hearts to see His Hand at work in every situation, we can be His vessel to bring Him glory and impact far more lives than we can imagine.
Well said, Sharon.
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