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Where is God When it Hurts?

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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