Eyes on the Risen Lord: Finding Wisdom, Strength, and Hope in the Midst of Tragedy

On July 6, around 9:25 am, I threw cold water on my face, dried my eyes with a paper towel, looked in the mirror, wept again, repeated the process, and opened the restroom door to walk into worship and prepare to preach.

Among those unaccounted for from the floods in the Texas Hill Country were Hadley Hanna, an 8-year-old whose parents I had married and who was a part of our church, and Wynne Naylor, another 8-year-old who was one of my daughter’s best friends. I had texted with both families that morning and anticipated the news we had all feared for the past 48 hours.

My grief was nothing compared to that of these and many other parents and family members, but it was not nothing. In our congregation that morning were others who, though not at the epicenter of this tragedy, were deeply affected. There were many who had friends or family members missing or lost. There were young women who had been in the floodwaters two nights before. Everyone, on some level, was suffering in the reality of what had occurred.

Today, as we continue to navigate all of this as a community, I want to share with you some of what I shared with our congregation that morning. The sermon is available online, but I hope these written notes may be helpful to some people as well.

In essence, this is a simple encouragement to lift your eyes. Below, I share three things to pray for, three passages of Scripture I find helpful right now, some very practical thoughts, and a word of encouragement that is a kind of rally cry for people of faith. I hope, to some degree, this is helpful. It is through faith that I am finding hope, and I pray the same for you.

Wisdom, Strength, Hope

In my office and over coffee, I find myself coming back to the same three passages and words of encouragement over and over again. When you are faced with something you either do not think you can handle or do not know how to handle, you need three things:

Wisdom to know what to do.

Strength to be able to do it.

Hope to know God is with you.

In fact, you need wisdom, strength, and hope to a degree you cannot muster on your own.

Based on three passages from the Bible, here are three prayers to pray for yourself (or others, by changing the pronouns):

Wisdom to know what to do: “God, I ask for wisdom, discernment, and breadth of understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore.”
(Based on 1 Kings 4:29)

Strength to be able to do it: “May I be made strong with all the strength that comes from your glorious power, so that I may have all endurance and patience.”
(Based on Colossians 1:11)

Hope to know God is with us: “May You, the God of hope, fill me with all joy and peace in believing, so that I may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
(Based on Romans 15:13)

If you are struggling to know what to pray for yourself or for others, these three prayers are a good place to start. As we discussed the week before, there are battles in our lives we can only win if God fights them for us. And yet, as we trust in Him, we also look for how we can fight alongside Him. If you are struggling with what to do, pray for wisdom, strength, and hope.

Three Passages: Final Words, Wheat and Weeds, Hope Eternal

We are all trying to make sense of this. While there are not clean-cut answers, there are places we can look for truth.

Several years ago, I was a chaplain at Children’s Medical Center for a summer. There, our training included the promise (or warning), “You’ll find out what you really believe here.” Our supervisors knew that our seminary-inspired book knowledge would be challenged by the realities of the pediatric ICU. I realized very quickly that I could not look parents in the eyes and tell them it was God’s will that their children were perishing. The first fatality I worked was one of unspeakable tragedy. I did not, and do not, believe God “caused” that child to die.

There are other very faithful Christians and pastors who would disagree, and that is fine, but my firm conviction, rooted in Scripture, is that God does not “cause” tragedies such as this, but we do have to wrestle with why God would “allow” them. Why, in the context of God’s good creation, is such tragedy allowed?

Christianity is not lacking in words to say about suffering. There are countless passages. Here are three.

John 16:33 cites the last words Jesus spoke to his disciples before he prayed for them and was subsequently arrested, put on trial, and crucified. These words are Jesus’ final formal teaching to his followers: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” I would encourage you to read these words over and over, searching them for truth and meaning, and I will share three quick thoughts as well.

First, “Trouble.” Jesus presents the world as it actually is. His teachings, and Christianity as a whole, do not gloss over the harsh realities of the world. One day there will not be trouble, but today there is. Some people (understandably) feel as if tragedies such as this somehow undermine our faith. That (unfortunately) is a complete misunderstanding of our faith. Jesus, in his final words of teaching, is clear that there will, in fact, be trouble.

Second, “Peace.” Why has Jesus said all he has said? He is directly referencing the words immediately before these, but in some ways he is referencing all he has said before. Jesus believes that his followers can have peace in the midst of the trouble. If we are waiting for peace around us to experience peace within us, we are hopeless. Jesus promises a peace in the midst of the trouble.

Finally, “Overcome.” Peace will not come from within the world; it will come from the one who has overcome the world. The promise here is not that all is presently made well; it is the promise that all is being made well and that in the end all is completely well. The firm conviction of Jesus and those of us who follow his way is that in the end God wins. In the present, there is trouble, but we can have peace now because Jesus has overcome and all is being made well.

Illustrating this in a different way, Jesus had previously told a story about a field and its owner. The owner planted wheat, but as the wheat grew, so too did weeds. An enemy, Jesus explains, had planted weeds among the wheat. The owner's servants asked for permission to pull up the weeds. We can imagine them crying out, “Why would you allow the weeds to be here?”

The owner, representing God, replies, “While you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn” (Matthew 13:29-30).

It is not the answer I would want, but in his wisdom, the owner knows that uprooting the weeds will uproot the wheat as well. For now, the owner says, let them grow together.

For now, God says, evil is allowed to exist. Why? I do not know. But just as the servants are implored to trust the wisdom of the field’s owner, Jesus implores us to trust the wisdom of the world’s owner, our good Father. For a time, the good in the world and the evil in the world grow together. But the time will come when the weeds will be burned off and the wheat saved.

Again, we see the firm conviction that all is not presently right, but all will be.

Finally, words from one of the first Christian pastors, the Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:54-55: “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’”

“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”

The last two lines are a song to be sung. Today, they are difficult lines to sing because today, we know where death’s victory and sting are. They are in our homes, in our schools, and in our churches. Today, we feel the sting of death’s victory.

Paul is not unaware of this. Again, he is not glossing over the realities of life with cheap, mediocre spiritual platitudes. Paul says, “when…then…”

When we cross from this life into the next (or when Jesus returns, whichever comes first) and move from this finite life into the promised future of eternity, then death’s temporary victory is overturned and its sting rendered hapless.

It is then that those lines will become easy to sing; they will be obviously true. Now we sing that song in faith, even in the shadow of death’s victory, because we know what the future holds. The future holds the full restoration of God’s creation: the trouble cast out, the weeds burned away, and death itself defeated.

In the present, there is trouble. We can have peace, however, because of the sure and certain hope of the resurrection, by which Jesus has indeed overcome the world.

We only taste the victory of Christ in the present, but it will be in the fullness of the Kingdom to come that we will feast with him in perpetual peace.

What to Do

We all want to do something. We have sent meals, attended services, and worked lemonade stands. Here are thoughts on how to navigate this ourselves, help those most affected, and lead the children in our lives (whether they are your kids or not).

First, if you want to be helpful to others, you have to be growing and healing yourself. Unless you lost a family member, you are not at the epicenter of this. However, just because you are not at the epicenter does not mean you do not need healing yourself. Many of us assume (wrongly) that if anyone has it worse than we do, then we are selfish if we struggle. That is not true. My counselor told me one time that what I was going through was not “terrible”—it was not the worst thing someone would share with him that day, or the worst thing someone would share with me that day—but it was still “bad,” and I needed to deal with that.

I have told our community ad nauseam that everyone needs five relationships: a friend, a pastor, a mentor, a counselor/therapist, and your relationship with God. Do you have (and are you investing in) those five relationships? If not, start there.

A friend and counselor told me years ago that research shows that grief can only be processed in two ways: talking about it and writing about it. Without doing both of those things, you are not actually processing all of this.

Regarding the relationship with God, keep in mind that the center of the Bible (the literal center) is the Book of Psalms, 150 poems or songs written to God. The psalms were written to praise God, thank God, ask for God’s help, and express frustration, even anger, to and with God. As diverse as they are, however, all of the psalms have a through line. Each psalm reflects its author’s efforts to stay engaged with God. Some people stop engaging with God because they do not have anything nice to say. Allow me to assure you, God does not want your trite platitudes. If you are waiting for the perfect thing to say (or even something nice to say), you run the risk of not saying anything at all.

God wants your honest prayer. Stay engaged.

To grow through this, stay engaged with those five relationships, including your relationship with God.

Second, how do we help those at the center of this tragedy?

Keep in mind that there are people who are more affected than you and those who are less affected than you. Those closer to the epicenter are the people into whom you pour encouragement; those further out from the center are the people you look to for support. You can see why you need the five relationships; if you are not getting support from others, you may look towards those closer to the center for that support. You want to pour encouragement into them, not inadvertently put them in a position where they feel the need to support you.

Several years ago, a congregant who has since become a friend told me a couple of months after losing his daughter, “There is nothing anyone can do to make this better.” That was a sobering moment for me both as a pastor and, more generally, as a man. There was nothing I could do to make this better for him.

But that did not mean there was nothing I could do.

We could still read the book we were reading together, and I could still go to breakfast with him. I could not fix this, but I could be with him.

Back to the five relationships: Think about which of those five you are to the person you are trying to support. Unless you are a counselor, you cannot be their counselor. Unless you have been through what they are going through, you cannot mentor them through this. You are, obviously, not God to them (meaning you cannot ultimately heal them), but you can be a good friend. And everyone needs good friends.

Ask yourself very honestly, “What would a good friend do?”

You may only be able to do a little, but a little is not nothing. Practically, I encourage you to take 10-15 minutes (today, if possible) to ask the question, “God, what would you like for me to do for the _____ family?” Ask the question, sit and wait for guidance, then do what you are nudged to do.

Above all else, stay engaged.

Finally, for the kids in our lives.

Whether you have kids living in your home or not, you have a role to play. At some point in the last two weeks, friends of ours who are empty nesters came over just to hug our kids and tell them they loved them. Again, that may not seem like a lot, but it is definitely something.

For practical guidance, there is great content available online from the counseling centers in our community. Rely on those resources. If you are a parent, don’t do this alone. At least read some articles, but also consider talking to a counselor and getting guidance on how to support your kids. I have.

One thought. Often (very often) my kids are most open to talking when I am least open to listening—at 10:30 at night, when I have settled into a book or a TV show, or when I have just gotten home from a long day at work. Pray for the wisdom to discern when they are willing to talk, and the strength to set aside everything else and listen. They may not have the ability to talk when you want to talk. Stay ready, because their time could come when you least expect it. God will give you wisdom and strength. The wisdom and strength to, again, stay engaged.

You see the through line. In all of this, stay engaged. Stay engaged with your key relationships (including God), stay engaged with those who are struggling, and stay engaged with the kids in your life.

Ask for the wisdom to know what to do, the strength to be able to do it, and the hope to know God is with you.

Eyes on the Risen Lord

One final story and rally cry.

As one of the early followers of Jesus neared the end of his life, he saw something. Stephen knew death was coming, and he, “full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”

What we have in Acts 7:55-56 is an eyewitness account of Stephen looking up to heaven and seeing the afterlife. There are, of course, many similar contemporary accounts as well.

As death approached, the thin veil between heaven and earth was torn apart, and, looking through, Stephen said, “Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” As Stephen neared death, he saw the Resurrected Lord.

Friends, we believe that in the moment when death was approaching, those girls at Camp Mystic looked into the heavens and saw the Risen Lord. Not just Hadley and Wynne and their friends, but all of those lost in the floods. The veil opened, and they saw him.

And we believe the same Risen Lord who welcomed them into the heavens is reaching into the world today to offer you a hand, to lead you, to guide you. Will you look to him and ask him for wisdom, strength, and hope?

These moments are defining moments in our lives and in our community. May we be the kind of community that, in a moment like this, sits in the reality of the tragedy and grief, and also looks through the tragedy and sees the Risen Lord—sees hope.

Let us be men and women, teenagers and kids, who keep our eyes on the Risen Lord. It was not around suffering, but through suffering, that he came into the resurrected life. In the midst of our suffering, he is seeking to lead us into that life as well, beginning in this fragile world and extending into the life eternal.

Keep your eyes on the Risen Lord, friends.

Eyes on him, that he might lead you, that you might lead those around you.

Eyes on the Risen Lord.