RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2020-11-02	How Do I Recover From An Unbearable Tragedy?
		Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Rom 8:36  As it is written: "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL DAY LONG; WE ARE ACCOUNTED AS SHEEP FOR THE SLAUGHTER." Many Christians run to Romans 8:28 when tragedy occurs. The thought flow in Romans 8 even with this list of difficulties, is that “No” we will not be separated from the love of Christ. Rom 8:37  Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Paul says, “in” all these things, not instead of them, we are more than conquerors. Romans 8:28 is not a promise of escape from life's difficulties. This verse does make us inseparable from God's love even “in” these miseries. 3 Biblical Considerations. And these will build on each other. 1. When Jesus saved Paul on the Damascus road He said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Ac.9:4) Of course at first Paul did not know what this meant. Persecuting Jesus? Luke tells us Paul's condition as “still breathing threats and murder against the disciples” (Ac.9:1) Paul was part of Stephen's killing in Acts 7. Paul was a Christian killer. On the Damascus road Jesus told Paul he was not just a Christian killer, but a Christ killer. You are persecuting me Jesus said. When you touch My followers you persecute Me. Paul never forgot what He was (1Tm.1:15; 1Co.15:9). 1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 1Co 15:9  For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. It appears Paul never stopped feeling the sting of being a Christian killer. This is something so horrible in Paul's life, yet he never stopped taking it into account. It never stopped playing an emotional role in Paul's life. From Paul's example, the way forward in a tragedy is to “own it” which includes the grief. 2. It may be that the Lord is calling you to think of the tragedy not as a wound to be healed but as a disability to bear. Some disabilities are physical. Jacob wrestled with God, and his hip was put out of place, so he walked with a limp for the rest of his life. His limp was a reminder of his encounter with God. It did not go away. Some disabilities are mental, some are emotional, and some are spiritual. Think of the Christ exalting people you know who have a profound disability. By a miracle of God's grace, this ruining disability has become a life-giving ministry. This tragedy can be used for good. 3. One of the greatest hindrances to life after a tragedy is the deep sense that if I rejoice somehow I would show disrespect. The thought is if I rejoice after a tragedy, I would somehow minimize the horror of the original tragedy. There hangs over you a sense where you dare not return to any form of normalcy That “limp” is the miraculous capacity to minister to other people with a kind of joy that is unique to you. 2Co 6:10  as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. What did Paul mean that he carried out his ministry as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing (2Co.6:10). Could it be that part of the story Paul carried with him was the memory that he was a Christ killer? Whatever the sorrow was, what matters most is that Paul found a miracle of grace, to transform the sorrowful weight of his past into a ministry deepening power. And we can too! Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

An Evangelical Free Church of America

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