A Response to Tragedy
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This week’s tragedy in Texas has given us all mixed reactions. As a result, churches across the land are asking questions about security and striving to find answers for comfort from such a disturbing event.
What are some thoughts you might have after hearing such a tragedy?
How should we as Christians respond?
How should we as a church respond?
Lamentations 3:55-
I called on your name, O Lord,
from the depths of the pit.
You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears
to my cry for relief.”
You came near when I called you,
and you said, “Do not fear.”
O Lord, you took up my case;
you redeemed my life.
“From the depths of the pit”
A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth. A maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
O Lord, the God who saves me,
day and night I cry out before you.
May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
For my soul is full of trouble
and my life draws near the grave.
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am like a man without strength.
I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off from your care.
You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.
Your wrath lies heavily upon me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.Selah
You have taken from me my closest friends
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
my eyes are dim with grief.
I call to you, O Lord, every day;
I spread out my hands to you.
Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do those who are dead rise up and praise you?Selah
Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Destruction?
Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
But I cry to you for help, O Lord;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Why, O Lord, do you reject me
and hide your face from me?
From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death;
I have suffered your terrors and am in despair.
Your wrath has swept over me;
your terrors have destroyed me.
All day long they surround me like a flood;
they have completely engulfed me.
You have taken my companions and loved ones from me;
the darkness is my closest friend.
Thoughts:
Sometimes we feel as if God is not present
This Psalm reminds us that we can be honest with God
What are you experiencing as as result of hearing about a tragedy like this?
Lamentations 3:56
You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears
to my cry for relief.”
Thoughts:
God hears our plea.
are a cry.
But I call to God,
and the Lord saves me.
Psalm 55:1
God is still in the saving business
God is still on the Throne
God assures us that He hears us!
Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice.
Psalm 55:17
You came near when I called you,
and you said, “Do not fear.”
Lamentations
“You came near...”
Thoughts:
God was near then, He is near now, and will be Near in the future
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Psalm
“Do not fear...”
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
What can you learn from the promise of this verse?
Lamentations 3:
O Lord, you took up my case;
you redeemed my life.
“Took up my case...”
How has God taken up your case?
Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
“See, I will defend your cause
and avenge you;
I will dry up her sea
and make her springs dry.
Yet their Redeemer is strong;
the Lord Almighty is his name.
He will vigorously defend their cause
so that he may bring rest to their land,
but unrest to those who live in Babylon.
What is the promise from Jeremiah from these verses?
What is the promise from Jeremiah from these verses?
What is the promise from Jeremiah from these verses?
“…Redeemed my life.”
The Lord redeems his servants;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.
What promises can we hold on to as a result of these verses?
Further reading:
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the Lord, who is my refuge—
then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”