What's Your Response To Tragedy?

Amen. Take your Bible or your device. All the notes are on the app, as always. And I want to begin the message today by asking you two questions. Two questions.

The first question is how does personal tragedy shape your view of God? How does personal tragedy shape your view of God?

Think about that for a moment as present. The second question, which is actually a multiple choice question. Now, don't get up and walk out because you say, well, I wasn't ready for a test this morning. It's really easy. But here's the question.

What is your normal response when bad things happen in life? Multiple choice. A, you respond in faith, B, you respond in fear. C, you respond with frustration. D, you respond with anger, or E, all of the above.

What's your normal response when bad things happen in your life? Do you respond with faith or with fear, frustration, anger, or a combination of all of those things? Now, we're in a series, and if you've been for the last few weeks, you know that we're in this series where we're examining some of the great hymns of the church, the story and the theology behind these different hymns. And today we're focused on the hymn that's one of my favorites, and it's one of the favorites in the church. It's the hymn.

It is well with my soul. Now, many of you maybe are familiar with the history of this hymn that was written by a guy named Horatio Spafford. He was born 1828. He was a lawyer in Chicago, very successful lawyer. And he and his wife Anna had five kids.

They had a son and they had four daughters. But their son contracted pneumonia and tragically, they lost their son. Not long after that, on October 8, 1871, the great Chicago Fire struck. And Horatio Spafford, who had many real estate investments, lost all of his properties in that fire. So it's like one tragedy after another.

Horatio decided that he and his wife and his four daughters needed a vacation. So they planned this vacation and they were going to travel to Europe and they were going to sightsee and enjoy a time of rest and rest, refreshment. But they were also going to assist Horatio Spafford's good friend D.L. moody in his crusade in Europe. Well, just days before they were scheduled to leave, some legal matters popped up related to the zoning issues brought about by the Chicago fire.

And so Horatio decided that he would have to join his wife and daughters a couple of days later. So he sent them on ahead. Well, as they were traveling, the ship that they were on was struck by another vessel named the loch Erne on November 22, 1873. And in 12 seconds, or, pardon me, 12 minutes, that ship that Anna Spafford and her four daughters were on sank 226 people that died, including the Spafford's four daughters. Anna survived, and she was taken to Wales, where she sent a telegram to Horatio.

It contained two words, Saved alone, Horatio Spafford boarded a ship to go join his grieving wife. And the story goes that around the same spot where his four daughters perished, where that ship was struck, the captain notified Horatio Spafford that they were in the same vicinity of where that tragedy took place. Horatio Spafford walked out on the deck of that ship that he was traveling on. And as he was processing the loss of his son, the loss of all of his real estate investments, and the loss of his four daughters, he wrote these words. When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, Whatever my lot you have taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.

I think the last time that I shared that story about the hymn It Is well with My Soul was on August 26, 2001. I was preaching a message, or scheduled to preach a message that day where I was gonna tell this story as the closing illustration. And I remember it so well. In fact, it's etched permanently in my mind and my emotions, because on that particular Sunday morning, as I was preparing for our service, we were pastoring in Mobile, Alabama. And that morning, I remember so vividly, I walked into the sound booth to do something that morning for the service.

And as I stepped into the sound booth, my cell phone rang and I answered the. And it was my uncle on the other end informing me that my dad, at the age of 63, had just suffered a massive heart attack and did not survive. This is just moments before the service was to begin. I made the decision in the midst of that shocking loss and the grief to go ahead and preach that morning. Anyway, before traveling to Georgia to be with my grieving mother and my brothers, I had completely forgotten the fact that I was gonna share the story about Horatio Spafford and it as well, which ironically, happened to be my dad's favorite song.

And I'd completely forgotten that I was gonna talk about that until I was in the moment telling the story. And it dawned on me, as I'm telling the story I just shared with you, that all of a sudden it hit me. I had just lost my dad, and this was one of his favorite songs of all time. And I Can just tell you in that moment of great grief, I experienced peace like a river that attended to my soul. And that's what I want to talk to you about.

Today we see from the Old Testament and the New Testament 2 scriptures. I want you to look at with me this morning from. From Job, chapter 19, Job, chapter 19. And in some ways, Horatio Spafford could be a modern day job. Job, chapter 19.

And then also I want you to just. We're gonna look at just a couple of verses out of John, chapter 14. Job, chapter 19, John, chapter 14. If you don't have your Bible or device, we're gonna put the verses up on the screen. Would you stand to honor the Word of God this morning as I read these few verses to us today out of Job, chapter 19?

Beginning in verse 25, we find these words from a man who's in the midst of tremendous grief. Job has lost his wife, he's lost all of his kids, he's lost his home, he's lost all of his possessions, including all of his livestock, all in one day.

And in the midst of that, Job writes these words. For I know that my Redeemer lives. And he will stand at last on the earth and after my skin is destroyed. Yet in my flesh I will see God, whom I will see for myself. And my eyes will behold and not another.

How my heart yearns within me.

And then John, chapter 14, the words of Jesus himself. In verse 27, he says, I'm leaving you with a gift, peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid. Remember what I told you.

I'm going away. But I will come back to you again. Can anybody add an Amen to the word of God this morning? Come on.

God's gonna do something today. Come on, let's make some declarations before you're seated and before we jump into the message this morning. Everybody out loud. Ready? Go.

I will hide this word in my heart that I might not sin against God. This Word is life to my body and health to my bones. I will be a doer of the Word. And I am confident of this, that he who has begun a good work in me will complete it. Come on.

Do you believe that today, Church? I said, do you believe that today, Church? Amen. Come on, you can be seated. I want to talk to you about how we protect the well being of our soul.

How do we protect our view of God? How do we allow tragedy to shape our view of God? In a Healthy way. How can we walk through some of the darkest seasons of life and be able to say with resolute faith, it is well with my soul now, four truths that I want to share with you this morning. If you're following along, if you're taking notes this morning, if you've got the notes pulled up on the Refuge app.

Four truths, and the first one is this, that our God is alive. Our God is alive. Listen. We live in a time that we've probably all had moments where we've wondered, is there anything that's reliable anymore? Appliance and car parts cheaper than they've ever been and are designed to break within a few years.

The economy is unstable. Nations are pitted against each other. There's cultural wars everywhere you turn. We used to depend on schools to teach reading, writing and arithmetic, but now they want to teach kids about transitioning. They want to teach kids about drag queens and about DEI and about critical race theory.

And they want to tell a young lady how she should behave should a boy walk into her locker room and begin undressing in front of her. Things that we always thought we could depend on. Seems like we can't depend on them anymore. The disciples were in a position where they feared for their lives after Jesus was crucified. And they wondered, is there anything that we believed in that's still reliable?

Is there anything that's still stable for us? But the one truth that distinguishes our God from every other God is that he is alive and they are not. And the one truth that will never change, even though everything else may change, is that my redeemer lives.

I mean, as best we can, we should try to put ourselves in the position of Job, which is really impossible for us. But I think all of us on some level, can relate to Job. We've all. We all have the commonality of tragedy and unfair things that have happened to us. But if we somehow put ourselves in Job's shoes, where he's lost everything in a day and he's wondering, is there anything dependable?

Is there anything that I can believe in? Is there anything that I can trust? Is there anything now that I can anchor the remnants of my life to? And Job says in chapter 19, here's one thing that I know. My redeemer lives.

My redeemer lives.

So when we may not be able to make sense of anything, or when nothing seems dependable around us, the one thing that keeps hope alive, that says, no matter what, it will be well with my soul, is this thing that Jesus is alive. When Your world is rocked when death is all around like it was for Job. When everything that can be shaken and is shaken. When you're not sure about anything else, you can be sure, church, that your redeemer lives.

Come on, are you hearing me today? Come on. This is a word for somebody this morning. It was a couple by the name of Bill and Gloria Gaither. 1971, they wrote a song that's now been published in 38 different hymn books.

And the course of that song says, because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know that he holds the future and life is worth the living just because he lives.

Come on. This is a word for somebody this morning talking about how you protect the well being of your soul. How can you walk through the tragedies of life and still be able to say, in spite of all the loss, in spite of all the grief, in spite of all of the things that I don't understand, I can still declare it is well with my soul. The first thing is knowing that our God is alive. Second thing is this, that we know that he never clocks out.

He never clocks out like God never takes a break. He never goes on sabbatical, he never takes a vacation, he never takes a leave of absence. He's always mindful, he's always watching and he's always aware of where you are and of what you need. Now it's saying in Matthew 14 that the disciples had good reason to question what I just said. They'd just been a part of this great miracle, the feeding of the 5,000.

And Jesus gives them instructions and says, guys, I want you to get into that boat and I want you to row to the other side of the sea, the lake, the Sea of Galilee, seven miles across to the other side. And it's right around sunset, six in the evening or so. And so they get into the boat and they begin trying to row to the other side. Now, unlike the story that we find in Matthew chapter 8 where Jesus was on the boat with them and they encounter this nasty storm and they go and wake Jesus up because they're so terrified. And Jesus wakes himself up and he stands at the front of the boat and he speaks to the wind and the waves and everything calms down and the disciples are okay.

Unlike that story, Jesus is not on the boat this time. No, he sent them. And then he goes up into the hillside to pray. And the Bible says during the fourth watch of the night, which is about 3 o' clock in the morning, the disciples have made it about halfway across the lake. Three and a half miles in about nine hours.

They should have long been to the other side. But the Bible describes the storm and the waves battering against the front of the boat and the wind blowing against them. And I'm sure in that moment, the disciples probably felt like you and I have felt at different times in our life. Here I am in the darkest season of my life. Here I am having the living daylights beaten out of me, and Jesus is nowhere to be found.

Come on, can we be honest? Anybody besides me ever felt that way.

Can you just be honest enough to admit that there's been a moment in your life where you just wondered, have you abandoned me? Why are you nowhere? Do you not care? Do you not see what's going on in my life? And here's the beautiful part of that story.

The Bible says in the fourth watch of the night, when they're at the height of their frustration, wondering, does Jesus even care? The Bible says he walks out to them. In other words, he knew exactly where they were. He knew exactly what they were facing, and he knew exactly what they needed. How's that translate to you and I?

Well, the same truth for them is the same truth for us. And that is, regardless of what you're facing, regardless of the storms that are big against your life, regardless of the frustrations and the winds and the waves and the feeling of abandonment, Jesus knows exactly where you are and he knows exactly what you need. And at the moment you need him the most, he will come to you and he'll meet you at your greatest point of need.

And that's exactly what he did with the disciples.

Listen, it's in those times that we wonder, does Jesus care? Is Jesus mindful? Does Jesus see me? Oftentimes it's in those moments that the enemy will rush in and he'll begin a barrage of lies to make you think that God has abandoned you. That's why it's so important that we anchor our lives to scriptures like Deuteronomy, chapter 31, verse 6.

When God speaks to Moses as he's leading the Israelites and he says, be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them. For the Lord your God goes with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Proverbs, chapter 18, verse 24 says, he sticks closer to our side than a brother. Psalm 46:1 says, God is our refuge and our strength, an ever present help in trouble. Listen, maybe you're in the midst of one of those seasons where it's dark and the storm is raging. And maybe you wonder, does God even see? Does God even care?

And I just wanna remind you, he never clocks out.

He sees right where you are. Here's the third thing that's so important for us to understand. And it says that God allows seasons of sifting and shifting. God allows it. That might mess with your theology a little bit, but the reality is, and we find this in scripture, God will allow you to be tested.

God will allow you to be sifted. In fact, he says to Peter in Luke, chapter 22, verse 31, Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you, all of you as wheat. But Jesus says, I've prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. In Job, chapter one, we find these words in verse six. One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.

And the Lord said to Satan, where have you come from? Satan answered the Lord, from roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it. And then the Lord said to Satan, have you considered my servant Job? There's no one on earth like him. He's blameless and upright.

A man who. Who fears God and shuns evil. Verse 9. Does job fear God for nothing? Satan replied, have you not put a hedge around him and around his household and everything that he has?

You've blessed the work of his hands so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything that he has and he will surely curse you to your face. And the Lord said to Satan, very well, then everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself. Do not lay a finger. And then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Listen, in both of those instances, Satan had to ask permission to sift and to shift. And God was the one who granted the permission for his righteous to be tested, for his righteous ones to suffer. That don't mess with somebody's theology.

Listen, Paul said, I want to know Christ in the fellowship of his suffering and in the power of his resurrection.

The reality most of us do not like is that God allows sifting and shifting. But listen, there's a purpose to it. And what you need to understand is that all sifting and shifting is designed to deepen our relationship with God and to strengthen our view of Him. Now watch. Our response can determine whether our view of God is strengthened or weakened by what happens, our response.

Listen to me. It's not usually the tragedy that destroys our faith. It's usually our response to the Tragedy that will destroy our faith. That's why it's so important that in these seasons of sifting and shifting, that your response be that of faith, not of fear, not of frustration, not of anger before God, but that you have enough faith and trust that somehow all things work together for our good, and that the enemy cannot touch you without God's permission. Job, chapter 1, verse 21 and 22.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Job says, in the midst of his loss and his grief. And he says, may the name of the Lord be praised. Verse 22. Watch.

In all of this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. The apostle Paul tells us in First Corinthians, chapter 10, verse 13. And God is faithful. Say those four words with me. And God is faithful.

Come on, say it. And God is faithful. Come on, declare it. And God is faithful. Say it again.

And God is faithful. In the midst of your loss, in the midst of your grief, in the midst of your sickness, as you're walking through a divorce, as you've lost a child, as they're foreclosing on your house, you've got to remember God is faithful. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, notice it doesn't say if, but when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

God grants permission for you to be sifted and shifted because he knows that if you'll fix your eyes on him, if you'll just anchor your life to the word of God, if you'll respond in faith that no matter how vicious the storm, no matter how deep the grief, no matter how unfair the tragedy, that you'll come out with a better view of who he is and with a faith that runs even deeper. And the very things that the enemy intends to use to derail your faith and to destroy your faith will be the very things that God uses to strengthen and deepen your faith. Come on, somebody say amen. Here's the last thing. If we're gonna protect our soul, if we're gonna walk through the tragedies of life and be able to declare in faith it is well with my soul, here's the last thing you've got to remember is that God makes good on his word.

God makes good on his word. John, chapter 14, verse 27. We read a moment ago from our text. Jesus says, I'm leaving you with a gift, peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift that the World cannot give, so don't be troubled or afraid.

Remember what I told you. I'm going away, but I will come back to you again. Jesus told us that in this world we would have trouble.

We would have trouble. But he says, take heart, take courage. Because Jesus says, I've overcome the world and I live on the inside of you. And if I can overcome death, if I can overcome blindness, if I can overcome demon possession, if I can overcome every form of sickness, then whatever it is that you're facing, Jesus says, take courage. Don't lose heart because I've overcome the world.

I'm going to help you to overcome the tragedy or the storm that you're facing. Job says, God has authority over the earth. Job says, I know my redeemer lives and he's going to stand on the earth. That's a picture of authority, that God's going to make the earth his footstool. Jesus walks on top of the very thing that sought to destroy the disciples.

And now Jesus promises a peace that the world can't provide. And because of this peace, our hearts can be steady when nothing else is. Job was so sure of the promises of God that even while the loss and the grief was still so fresh. He says, and after my skin is destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God, whom I will see for myself and my eyes will behold and not another. Matthew, chapter 24, verse 35.

Jesus as heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. How in the world. How in the world could a man who's lost his only son, lost all of his real estate possessions, and who has now lost his four daughters, how in the world could that man stand on the deck of that ship?

And rather than waving his fist in anger at God, rather than responding with frustration, how could Horatio Spafford say, when peace like a river tendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll? He didn't deny that there was grief. He didn't deny that there was sorrow. He was just saying, in the midst of the depth of my pain, I can say, it is well. It is well with my soul.

How could he do that? He did that by remembering that his God was still alive. He did that by remembering that God had not clocked out and taken a break and been mindless or absent from his life.

He did that by remembering that God had allowed the sifting and the shifting and that somehow God would still make good on his word.