Most Important Thing

Few of us will go through life without suffering heartbreak. Tragedy is a crushing weight, too heavy to bear alone. The loss leaves a void, an emptiness nothing seems to fill.   

In the depths of that pain, your heart cries out, "Why, God?" Perhaps it's "Why me?" Perhaps it's "Why him?" But all we want is to understand why something so awful had to happen.   

Perhaps the most important question at that moment isn't "Why?" Perhaps the most important question is "Now what?"   

Tragedy is a fork in the road. You have to decide which way to go.   

One direction is blaming God for letting a bad thing happen to a good person. Anger breeds bitterness, and you turn your back on the one who loves and understands you better than anyone else.   

But one poet said that, while tragedy is the end of happiness, it also is the beginning of peace. If, instead of blaming God, you turn to Him for strength and comfort, it's like he wraps His arms around you. He carries you when you can't take another step yourself.   

One name for God's spirit is the Comforter. All of us know how much it means to have someone come alongside and comfort us when we are hurting. The real tragedy is when we are so focused on why something happened that we miss out on what God had in store for us next.    Whenever you are in crisis, God is there. The question is whether you are going to turn your back in anger or let Him wrap His arms around you. It sounds like you decided to let Him carry you through.   

Do you think it was an accident that you were heartbroken and God was there to carry you through? What do you suppose he wanted you to learn from that experience?   

Most people think life is about happiness. Mostly theirs, but maybe yours too. But in God's eyes, life is not about happiness. Life is about relationships -- with Him and with others. Life is about growing up to be like our Heavenly Father. Life is about the peace God gives when you comfort others whose hearts are broken, the way He comforted you when you were suffering.   

God's Word says He "causes ALL things to work together for good" in the lives of those who love Him, those for whom He has a purpose in life (Romans 8:28). He has a purpose for your life. If you choose to love Him instead of growing bitter against Him, He can use even tragedy and heartbreak to do a good thing for you and for others.   

The apostle Paul tells us to "bear one another's burdens" (Gal. 6.2). God carried your burden when you were struggling. Jesus took your load of sin when you could never have carried it yourself. You know what it's like to suffer tragedy and have someone come alongside and comfort you.