Like
most of you, I can’t stop thinking about the Humboldt Broncos.
I feel so bad for the families. I am so sad for the community. Seeing pictures of hockey sticks or
microphones left outside the front door under the porch light in silent tribute
is heart wrenching. Reading as loved
ones recall their favourite memories or hearing about all the good each
individual did only makes this tragedy feel worse. It just doesn’t make any sense. Why would something like this happen?
I have no answer for that last
question. Nothing I could say would even
come close to being useful. I do not
have an answer as to why.
However, having lived through
similar circumstances in both my wife’s immediate family and in our church
family, I have come to believe this: God has not forgotten or left us.
It would be nice if belief in God
was like a good luck charm that would keep us from all harm or tragedy, but it is
not. In fact, it was Jesus himself that
said, “In this world, you will have trouble” (John 16:33). The promise of scripture is not that we will
be kept safe from all harm, but that God will walk with us through whatever we must
face. As Psalm 23 reminds us, the Lord our
shepherd leads us to the green pastures, by the still waters and even through the
valley of the shadow of death when necessary.
He goes with us.
One of my favourite reminders is
that “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted” (Psalm 34:18). Sometimes our pain makes it so that this is
very hard to believe, but God never leaves us.
It may take a lot of effort, but if we look we can see his love, care
and presence reflected in the kindness of others. The unity and love that has been poured out
in the last few days in so many ways is a reminder that, in some way, we are
all connected and that we are all loved.
A close friend of mine, who
himself experienced something incredibly difficult and hard to endure has said
to me more times than I can count, “I don’t know how anyone would go through
something like this without faith”.
Faith will not stop all the pain, but it can help get you through it.
So today, I am praying for every
family affected in any way. I am giving
thanks for the love and generosity that is flowing in from all over country and
all over the world. And I am praying
that, even in their grief, people hold onto their belief in a Heavenly Father who loves them more than they know and whose heart is breaking right
along with them.
We need our faith now more than
ever.
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