Tragedy is disorienting. It interrupts the comfort of ordinary life and scatters our thoughts and emotions. A shooting, an earthquake, a senseless act of violence leave us with the reality that our safety and security may be an illusion. What confronts us is evil that awakens our deepest intuitions about how the world should be. We expect order, fairness, love, and meaning, but evil violates them all. We want to believe that good wins in the end or that justice will be served, but in moments of chaos those truths seem to slip through our fingers.

In light of last month’s tragedies in the United States, and the witnessing of persecution around the globe, I’ve felt this insecurity. Tragedy dominates when it strikes. It’s dominated my emotions and my thought life. And I’ve asked the questions of what now? Who or what can I trust? What do I do with my emotions? How do I be real with people who may think differently than me? Maybe you’ve asked these sorts of questions too.

 Scripture: An Anchor for the Soul in Disorienting Times

In these moments, I look for an anchor that tethers me to truth and goodness. Scripture is this anchor. It provides three aspects of clarity in times of tragedy which serve as comfort for our souls. It names evil for what it is, guides us in how we are to respond, and reminds us of who God is in the midst of our pain.

Scripture Speaks Truthfully About Evil and Tragedy

In walking through deep pain with others, and experiencing moments of tragedy myself, I’ve learned that more than an answer of why something happened, what we really desire in those moments is someone to take our pain seriously. We long for someone to share in our sufferings and affirm our feelings. To call out what we see as evil as it really is.

Scripture speaks with an honest realism regarding tragedy. In Genesis we read of the origins of evil. When Adam and Eve used their free will to grasp for autonomy and choose to live life as they wanted, God’s good creation was cursed (Gen 3:17) and as Paul says, “subject to frustration.” (Romans 8:20-21) Relationships were distorted, the earth was cursed, and life now ends in death. In Genesis chapter four, when brother kills brother, we read the blood of Abel “cries out from the ground.”

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From the opening chapters of the Bible to the end of Revelation, we read that almost every figure who walks faithfully with God also walks through tragedy. Moses is rejected by his people, spends decades in exile, is burdened by leading a rebellious nation, and is banned from entering the promised land. David commits adultery, spends years in exile as a fugitive from Kind Saul,, is betrayed by his son Absalom, and experiences the loss of children. Job is called a righteous man who experiences more than a great deal of suffering as he loses his wealth, family, health, and reputation. John the Baptist is imprisoned and beheaded. The disciples were willing to die for the belief Jesus rose from the grave, and we have evidence many did. Paul was beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, betrayed, and martyred. These examples are in stark contrast to much of our modern day culture. Society has a way of avoiding naming evil, talking about tragedy, or explaining pain away. These things are uncomfortable, but they must be named.

The point is this, scripture speaks plainly about a world broken by sin and the chaos that follows. The pages of the bible do not hide from pain or edit out injustice or sanitize suffering. This means scripture takes your pain seriously, meaning the God of the bible takes your pain seriously.

Scripture Models How We Are to Respond

Nearly a third of the Psalms are laments. These are not words of faithlessness in the midst of tragedy but a faithful honesty before God. Psalm 62:8 says to “pour out your heart before him.” Lament is grief directed toward God. We are invited to bring our sorrow to God. The psalms are full of raw cries to God: “How long, O Lord?” (Psalm 13:1-2), “Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?” (Psalm 10:1). This action has a profound impact on us as human beings.

Acknowledging the Brokenness

First, it helps us acknowledge and name the evil or tragedy. As previously mentioned, we have a tendency to avoid pain and overlook suffering. Lament requires an honest acknowledgement of our broken world.

Moving Toward God in Grief

Second, it moves us toward God rather than away from him. This is a posture towards hope and away from despair. When crying out to God, we are doing so in a relationship with him. We are bringing our burdens and sorrows to his feet. Psalm 13 is a great example of how David moves from crying out to God to expressing trust in God’s unfailing love. What starts out with cries of lament and feelings of being forgotten, forsaken, and overwhelmed turns to a declaration of trust. He says in verse 5, “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.”

The model of the psalms for us is to name evil as evil, bring our grief to God with honesty, and put our hope and trust in God.

Scripture Reveals Who God Is in the Midst of Tragedy

I’ve heard it said that the Psalms do not just tell us what the cries of Israel were, but they also tell us what God can hear. He can hear cries of injustice, lament, grief, and frustration. In Exodus 3:7-8 we witness that God sees Israel’s suffering, hears their cries, and is moved to deliver them. In Genesis when Hagar is outcast from Abraham’s family, she is wondering and cries out to God and calls him El Roi. the God who sees. These two passages reveal that God hears and sees his people in tragedy. He is not distant and disengaged, he is present, interruptible, and takes interest in you.

God is also moved to action. The emotion most attributed to Jesus in the gospels is compassion. Jesus is moved with pity over and over as he walks with us humans and witnesses our pain. When Jesus approaches the tomb of Lazarus, he weeps. Jesus is so moved with compassion that he weeps at the death of his friend. This means Jesus feels and weeps with you.

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Finally, we read that God is the only one with the power to overcome evil. Our ultimate hope is that this life is not the end. For those who surrender their lives to Jesus and receive his forgiveness, we have ultimate hope. In Revelation 21:4 we read:

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Tragedy will never have the final say, because our good God is in control. When we see God clearly as one who sees and hears us, is moved with compassion, acts on our behalf, and in the end will be victorious, we find an immense amount of hope and peace.

How to Test the Anchor in Your Own Life

I find two facts to be comforting. First, this world is not as it was created to be. Second, this world is not our home. And yet, God does not abandon us or ignore us. He enters into our tragedy, takes it upon himself, and offers the only hope to overcome.

You may think, ok, scripture speaks truthfully, models how we ought to respond, and reveals who God is, that’s my anchor, but I can’t see it right now. It’s like an anchor in the bottom of a deep lake, where the murkiness of the water does not let the light shine. The anchor is blurred and hidden. Sure, we may think it has hit bottom after casting it over the side of the boat, but do we really know? This is kind of like reading of the promises of scripture, without living as if they were true. What might we do in the case of sitting on a boat? We test the anchor to see if it’s grounded. We let the wind blow and see if it holds. In a similar way, in the midst of tragedy we look to scripture and read of who God is, what he has done, and what he invites us to do. Then we do as it models.

Here are four ways you can do that today:

Reflect on the reality of evil, and name the tragedy. You may read the beginning of Genesis and the account of the fall of man, or a psalm of lament.Read the responses of the witnesses in the bible who went through profound suffering. Read and reflect on Psalm 13.Remember what God promises. And speak those promises back to him. Read Exodus 3:7-8, Psalm 34:18, Hebrews 4:15, Revelation 21:4. “Lord you say… in your Word, help me believe these promises today.”Talk to someone. Your greatest need in tragedy may not be an answer to why you are in your current situation, your greatest need may be for someone to share in your grief. Galatians 6:2 models that we are to bear one another’s burdens, allow someone to do that for you.

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