'We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. ' 1 John 4:16

So many tragedies. Watch the news for two minutes. Look around at the lives of your friends and acquaintances. Look back over your own life. No matter how hard we try we can't avoid the pain of life in a broken world. We hurt for others. We hurt for ourselves. How do we handle it? How do YOU handle it?

Most of us are not self-aware enough to recognize our own self-protective strategies. We can look at someone else and see how they are turning to work, or addiction, or TV, or shopping, or food, or anything else to avoid their pain. Yet, we don't recognize what we do to avoid dealing with the biggest of questions: Why does God allow pain, in my life and the lives of those around me, and why doesn't He stop it when He can?

I can't answer that question. Oh, I can give you answers. I've done it many times in the past. That is part of my self-protective strategy. If I can explain my pain, or someone else's, to some extent, if I can convince myself that in some way it makes sense, then it becomes easier for me to deal with. But it doesn't really answer the question of why God allows it. It just avoids truthfully bringing the question to God. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try to make sense of tragedy, it just doesn't make any sense at all.

So then, how do we handle this huge question of pain and tragedy? How do we acknowledge the question we can't truly answer and still maintain our faith? How do we keep saying YES to a God who sometimes allows hurt to come to us and those around us and doesn't give us satisfactory explanations?

Trust in God’s goodness. I have found in my time of deepest hurt and deepest questioning that there is only one anchor that keeps me safe in the storm of confusion: The goodness of God's character. When I can't understand why God doesn't solve the problem and stop the tragic from becoming reality, I have learned to remind myself that God is still good, that His mercies are new every morning, that His faithfulness doesn't run out, that His grace is still amazing.

Choose to persevere. Landing on the truth of God's character allows me to persevere in the tempests of tragedy that rattle my faith. I have to choose to trust His goodness and leave my questions unanswered. And then, something awe-inspiring happens. Even though my questions are still hanging in the air, they fade, and I begin to see the brightness of His presence in a new way. I become aware of Him almost tangibly, in a way that I could not have if I understood. I feel His grip on me tighten and the seas below my staggering feet become stable as stone. The storm doesn't stop, but my feet no longer stumble.

Let His love carry you forward. Remember, dear friend. God IS love. It is the essence of who He is. Not only is He love through and through, He loves YOU. When we talk about God’s love it is easy to keep that love at arm’s length. It’s so much easier to believe that God loves everyone else and so difficult to apply that love to myself, isn’t it? Instead of keeping His love at arm’s length, imagine those everlasting arms wrapping around you and carrying you through the wind and waves of the tragedies around you. That’s who He is and that is what He wants to do for you.

Dear One, whatever questions are staggering you today, I encourage you to persevere in the storm, spurred on by the persistent goodness of God's character. Trust in His love for you. Say YES to perseverance and you say YES to God's stabilizing presence.

Key thought: Trust God's goodness and love in the tempest of tragedy.

A Scripture to consider: 'We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. ' 1 John 4:16

A YES challenge: What is your self-protective strategy in the face of tragedy? How can you trust God with your questions?

Prayer: Father, I hate to admit that I have unresolved questions. I thought that faith was supposed to answer all my questions, but it isn't true, and I am not quite sure how to resolve that. Help me to trust in Your goodness and your love even when my questions are unanswered. Be my anchor in the storm. Amen.