So many in need of comfort. . . .

  

Before going to bed last night, I watched the news and still feel heavy at what has happened. The extreme flash flooding in Texas has taken more than 100 lives. Twenty-seven of those were young girls at a Christian camp. One of the search and rescue people reported finding a child’s Bible and seeing its underlined verses and notes. He told how this broke his heart and he sobbed for a long time. 

Two girls and their grandparents died. A mom and dad are grieving the loss of two generations. I don’t know any of these people, but am feeling a slice of their horrible pain. Today brings sorrow and tears and prayers. How can the survivors and families of this tragedy be comforted?

This is only one news event, so I looked for statistics and found that approximately 150,000 people die each day worldwide. This translates to roughly 1.78 deaths per second, 107 deaths per minute, and 6,390 deaths per hour. Age-related causes account for about two-thirds of these deaths, with heart disease and cancer at the top of the list. Accidents come next and the statistics go on without saying anything about flash floods, not that this omission is a comfort.

The Bible gives me what I already know, not from loss like what is happening due to storms like TX and the one that hit NC, but from personal pain from other situations. God says:

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18)
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3)
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

These verses are my prayers for those who survive and grieve. Yet God also speaks about those who experience the horror and do not survive. May these thoughts comfort broken hearts as survivors think of what their loved ones experienced at the end of their lives. 

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. (Isaiah 43:2)

A few years ago my husband was deathly ill. He survived, yet tells of thinking, “Lord, here I come” — not in fear but in peace. This speaks to me too. The day will come when each person walks through that valley and the Spirit of God says His presence holds our hands. That is our comfort and will be the comfort of those who remain and in whom the Spirit dwells.

What about those not in relationship with Christ through faith? God is not mean. He says He is near to the brokenhearted. He blesses those who mourn. We have no affirmation about the eternal destiny of each of those who die, but we do know that those who cry out to Him in the last moments of their lives could hear Him say, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” Such is the grace of God.

PRAY: Jesus, even as a faraway bystander, I feel grief. The pictures on the news bring viewers closer to the people who are gone and those who sob on the sidelines. Some of my friends will not watch the news, yet I don’t want to protect my heart with ignorance of the suffering outside of my little world. Help me pray and hold those whose hearts are broken before Your throne of mercy and grace. May You be near to them and bind up wounds that are beyond all other comforts. You alone know what to do.