When Tragedy Strikes: What is God Trying to Tell Me?

We live to please God and do his will yet we fall victim to misfortunes and in our despair we entertain the thought of whether it was of any use to have believed in God. We interpret our misfortune as indifference from God. He doesn’t care. Have you ever felt this way?

Consider the following two scenarios.

Jonah’s disobedience caused God to hurl a great storm upon him so that the ship threatened to break up. Jonah was clearly out of God’s will. God expressed his displeasure by casting Jonah into the sea where of a great fish came and swallowed him whole.   

Consider another scene at sea. The apostle Paul was falsely accused, treated like a criminal, arrested and sent to Rome for trial, but on the way he suffered ship wreck because of a storm. Despite having little energy because he’d gone days without eating, he had to muster the courage and strength to abandon ship and swim for land in cold water. He makes it to shore and starts a fire only to get bitten by a poisonous snake! Here is Luke’s account:

When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.” (Acts 28:2–6)

Notice how the native people initially “interpreted” Paul’s unfortunate circumstances as proof that he was a bad guy and that God or perhaps a god had it in for Paul. They were wrong. On the other hand, when they see that the poisonous viper did not kill Paul, they reinterpreted Paul’s circumstances and concluded that he was a god because he’d survived both a sea storm and a poisonous snake bite. They were wrong again. Unless we have a clear word from God to speak to our specific circumstances, we need to be cautious about interpreting them for ourselves. The mariners rightly discerned that the storm was a sign of divine displeasure, but they did not know who the culprit was. They find out soon enough because Jonah, being the prophet that he was, made it known. We, however, aren’t prophets. We aren't very good at rightly interpreting our own circumstances. We are prone to wrong conclusions.  

There are many people who are clearly lost and out of God’s will yet they “interpret” the material blessings they receive in life as God’s approval. The Psalmist lamented this “prosperity of the wicked” (Ps. 73:3). He writes, “For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind…Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.” (Psalm 73:4-5, 12).

More often than not the wicked seem to enjoy smooth sailing on calm seas and the fact that the LORD has not hurled a great tempest upon them makes them believe that God doesn’t see or care about their wickedness. “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive” (Psalm 94:6–7). They wrongly interpret their circumstances and thus they draw wrong conclusions about God.   

On the other hand, there are people who live to please the Lord and do his will yet they fall victim to misfortune of one sort or another and in their despair they entertain the thought of whether it was of any use to have believed in God. They interpret their unfortunate circumstances as indifference from God, that his eye is not favorably upon them. Like the Psalmist they say,

“All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning.” (Psalm 73:13–14)

 They cry as innocent Job did from his sick bed, “What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?” (Job 21:15)

There is a better way. It is much easier to read and interpret God’s word on the pages of our Bibles than it is for us to interpret our circumstances. God has made his will known. There is no need for us to speculate and wonder about God’s desire for our lives.

 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.” (Proverbs 3:5–7)

 To trust in the Lord means to know his will and align ourselves accordingly and remain steadfast no matter what storms may come. Sure. There are times when we must examine ourselves and consider whether our misfortune is a result of our own disobedience. But we must examine ourselves in light of God’s word. Let us rest on God’s sovereign control of all things for “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28)

God doesn't "try" to tell us anything. He has no difficulty making his will clear.  We have his written word.