"Why?"

Go figure why it happens,

Lost life and tragedy,

Nine children this past weekend,

And one adult, you see.

And just like all bad stories,

We have to wonder why,

Death, so much destruction,

Too sad to even try.

You could blame the devil,

I know sometimes that’s it,

Don’t give him too much credit,

Though he will never quit.

And please don’t blame the Savior,

For causing this to be,

We know He allows it,

But gives good gifts, you see.

But why did He not stop it,

The rain upon the road,

The question goes unanswered,

Creates a heavy load.

This evil world has freedom,

But nobody can tell,

Why things like this happen,

From us, heaven or hell.

So somehow we live with it,

And choose to put our trust,

In God who is our Father,

And gives His care to us.

And when they asked, Lord Jesus,

Why’d that tower kill those men,

He said simply to repent,

All die, be ready then.

 So when it comes down to it,

We learn to let things go,

Into the hands of Jesus,

And trust in Him to show,

What it is that we should do,

And how to deal with things,

Give Him all our questions,

And trust the grace He brings.

Lord, give Your peace and comfort,

To those who suffer most,

And let them feel the presence,

Of the blessed Holy Ghost.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything…” (Phil. 4:6-7, NLT)

Paul’s counsel was to intentionally turn from our worry to the only One who can relieve it. The burden of not understanding why bad things happen is included in life’s worries. Our questions may or may not be answered, but they can be given to the Lord in prayer. And when they are, He promises to give us peace. The peace does not come because we have the answer, mind you. It comes because we pray. I do not mean to trivialize the pain of losing a loved one or the overwhelming trauma of tragic accidents. Sometimes people are in shock longer than they are willing to admit, and suffer from all sorts of post traumatic stress syndrome. That said, it is faith in God that be a foundational avenue to lasting peace and heailng. In fact, if there is any short cut at all to processing tragedy this is it. God’s peace, as Paul says, exceeds anything we can understand. Perhaps this is what makes it strong enough to overcome any tragedy we don’t understand. (I dedicate this poem to my good friend, Sheriff Hoss Mack.)

Lord, let Your peace guard our hearts and minds, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Bill Anton, billantonstudio.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Bill, and God bless you.