8 Ways to Respond as Christians to Personal, National, and World Tragedy

Fear not, for I am with you;
    be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

In my Worldviews and Discipleship class at Cornerstone BibleAcademy class the other night, our instructor, Pastor RobDalrymple, asked us to discuss a question: How should we, as Christian Americans, respond to the tragedy of Boston?

There were many thoughtful responses, ones you would probably think of yourself.

Dr. Dalrymple then went on to ask us if Christian Indonesians (or Christian Africans, or Christian Chinese, or Christian Indians or Christian Palestinians – my additions) should respond in the same way? He then challenged us with this: If we are all Christians, we should all be responding as Christians. 

It got me thinking. Which was probably his objective.

I went back to the roots of Christian thinking – Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, recorded in the book of Matthew 5:1-7:29.

How should we respond as Christians when tragedy occurs – in our lives, in our nation, in the world?

1) Matt 5:1-16 Refine our own character

Known as the Beatitudes, Jesus tells us about the beauty of God’s blessings as our Christian character matures in him. It’s a process. We acknowledge our need for him and mourn the fact that before Christ, we were different people. Because of that recognition, we are able to be gentle with others who are sinners, too.

We begin our search for the right path and receive God’s mercy; as a result, mercy overflows and we give that overflow to others. As we do that, we expect nothing in return – our motives are pure because God’s motives are pure – He gives out of love. 

It’s only at this point we are able to be peacemakers, and it’s at this pinnacle that we’re subject to the attacks of the enemy. Persecution comes when we follow the will of God. The enemy wants to divide us, wants us to identify with and worship other gods (Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, Tea Party, Americans, name yours!) instead of YHWH, El SHADDAI, GOD (Exodus 20:2-3).

When we remain steadfast against those attacks and overcome that kind of persecution, we can finally become light and salt in the face of tragedy.

2) Matt 5:17-48 Obey the law in our hearts

Jesus fulfills the law of Moses by telling us to take the law from paper into our hearts (Deuteronomy 6:4-6). He spells it out so specifically we can’t ignore it, yet we do every day. We become angry with our friends, wield lustful intent, divorce without honor, take offense and insist on retribution, and turn away from and would never think of praying for those who we define as “our enemies.” 

Acting in this manner and attempting to lasso people to our point of view through laws they do not wish imposed upon them is hypocritical at best and dictatorial (not democratic) at worst. It pushes people away from Christ.

We must commit ourselves to being different than the world around us. We must commit ourselves to wearing our hearts on our sleeves. We must commit ourselves to showing up as compassionate, caring, loving individuals. We must commit to changing society not through laws but through loving actions. 

3) Matt 6:1-34 Spend time alone with God; pray, fast and trust

Jesus teaches us to pray behind closed doors. He tells us to fast, to bring our troubles to God, yet reminds us that God will take care of our day-to-day needs. We don’t have to get the words right, we just have to be honest (James 5:13-16). But we also have to listen.

So many times, we use excuse after excuse for our busyness. “I don’t have time to sit alone with God.” “My work hours are so long.” “I have to get the kids here and there.” “I get up too early.” “I go to bed too late.” Who or what god are we worshipping?

4) Matt 7:1-6 Remember we are all sinners

Jesus reminds us that, even though we are believers, we still sin. If we were perfect, we wouldn’t be Christians. Let’s not cast stones, let’s not reach out to take splinters or shoot flaming arrows. (John 8:7)

He also reminds us to not cram our religious beliefs down other people’s throats. All that does is choke them. When others hurt, let’s reach out to comfort, to love, to bring peace. 

We must be attractive enough as people on the inside and transparent enough as love-filled Jesus followers on the outside so others want to hear us and want to follow Jesus.

5) Matt 7:7-11 Ask for wisdom

God is here, waiting for us to ask him for help. He will never come uninvited, but He has wisdom, peace, discernment and comfort to give us. (James 1:5-6) No, He may not answer all of our “why” questions. 

He will, however, embrace us with an immeasurable love and understanding, with arms wide enough to hold all of our emotions, and when we are ready to accept it, a peace beyond our comprehension.

6) Matt 7:12-14 Follow the Golden Rule

Continue to be yoked to Jesus (Matt 11:29). Continue to walk the path that leads to the narrow gate. It is tempting to step off when tragedy strikes, easy to fall onto the path of anger, resentment, accusation and blame. 

Resist it, because that path is so far from the direction we want to journey as Christians, the way back will be an obstacle course of regret, guilt, shame and self-doubt.

7) Matt 7:15-20 Bear good fruit

“Beware of false prophets,” says Jesus, “who come to you in sheep’s clothing but are really ravenous wolves.” Do you listen to the rants or blogs of “political correspondents” or talking heads either on TV or online, or radio show hosts who incite divisiveness like a fire in dry grass (James 3:5-8)?

Do you pass along political jokes or comments in the guise of, “well, I have a right to my own opinion,” when the result is division rather than coalition or peacemaking?

Reread Galatians 5:22-23. Are you bearing good fruit? In times of tragedy particularly, Christians need to set an example of putting personal agendas behind, putting Jesus first and pulling the country together.

8) Matt 7:21-19 Obey Jesus’ words

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon a rock.”

Hm. Was Jesus just kidding when he said this? Not so much (James 1:22-25). James, the brother of Jesus, told us that when we meet trials, the testing of our faith “produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect, complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4).” 

Perfect, not in the sense of “having no flaws,” but in the sense of fitting God’s needs for His purposes, surrendering and allowing Him to sculpt you into who He designed you to be.”

In other words, if, during tragedy, we are willing to

1. refine our own character
2. obey the law in our hearts
3. spend time alone with God –praying, fasting and trusting in Him
4. remember that we’re all sinners
5. ask for wisdom
6. continue to be yoked to Jesus
7. bear good fruit, and
8. obey Jesus’ words 

 it will become an opportunity to shine the warmth of God’s light, build God’s kingdom and mature our own Christian faith and character in Christ.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

He Is Risen

Acts 13:22 He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’

As I post this blog the day before Easter morning, I reflect on the love of the Lord, the heart of David, and the condition of my own heart toward God, praying to the Holy Spirit to create in my heart to do all His will.

While my physical birthday is October 24^th, my spiritual birthday is March 4, 2007. That is the day I was baptized and declared publicly my belief, love, and acceptance of my state of grace through the sacrifice of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

A favorite verse and a favorite song come to mind today. The verse is from Matthew. The song is a worship song from Chris Rice. They intertwine in my thoughts because they both remind me when I call on Jesus how easy it is to stay loving and merciful and faithful. 

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NLT) Jesus asked us simply to remember and act upon two commandments- Love the Lord over everything else and love our neighbor.

Chris Rice wrote a song titled, “Unnamed Hymn (©2003, Chris Rice).”  In it he writes,

Now your burden's lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus and live!

Last Sunday, our Youth Pastor preached about the righteousness and humility of Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey. It left me in awe of a God who chose to abide in his own humility instead of displaying his power. His ministry turned the world upside down. He honored the shamed, and shamed those with status.

It also left me wondering how many times I have prayed for my own plans to be fulfilled, rather than praying for God to execute his plans through me. I know I have prayed both kinds of prayers, yet the first kind has me in the driver’s seat, has me as the focus, has me pushing my own agenda to the forefront.

The second kind of prayer has God’s strength sourcing the words, has Jesus’ own words of love uplifting them, has the Holy Spirit’s gifts and wisdom behind them. As I recall the prophet Zechariah describing the character of our King – his righteousness and humility – I pray that I will remember to keep my prayers to the second kind. I pray that God’s will be planted in my heart, that His desires become my own, that I become conscious of my perfectly fitted yoke to Jesus, and that I drink from the living water of the Holy Spirit to build His kingdom, not mine.

When I pray for God to search my heart, to help me with my doubt, to bring me patience, to give me wisdom, to speak through me, He does. He shows His expansive and unconditional love whenever I ask. I have experienced fulfilled promises and a supernatural ability to wait on His timing for me. 

He lifts me up, He calms my fears, He stays my focus. He strengthens my heart.  He lived to teach us, to bring us to the Father, to beseech us to repent, to open His arms and welcome us. He overcame death and rose again, forever renewing us in Him.

I, along with the sun, the stars and the moon, with the wind and the birds, lift my voice to praise Him and proclaim His name, and say, “He is Holy; His name will reign forever.”

What's in a Name?

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9

If you are a peacemaker and a Christian, you cannot call yourself a conservative. And if you are a peacemaker and a Christian, you cannot call yourself a liberal. If we are to follow Christ and be his disciples, we must drop these labels and love one another. That’s His message.

Jesus also said, “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” As long as we continue to call each other names and elevate ourselves by our own labels, we continue to pridefully defile ourselves, hate each other, put ourselves before God, love ourselves first, put our wills first, and take judgment out of God’s hand and into our own.

This includes, by the way, taking sides in any conflict we think we know everything about, even Israel and Palestine. Do you forget that there were Christians living in Israel at the time Jesus walked on that soil – and are still living there today? Do you forget that the people of Palestine were Christians, and that Christians, Jews and Muslims lived together in peace before the United States ever got involved? Do you forget that it is not Muslims who are encroaching on Christian land, but Israelis? Do you forget that the new covenant Christ brought to us was to love your neighbor and your enemies and to bring all nations to himself?

And if you didn’t vote for our current President, are you praying for him? If you disagree with the majority in Congress, have you been praying for wise decision-making and hands that reach across party lines to honor commitments to God and to the people they serve? Have you prayed for an end to lobbying and favoritism on both sides of the Senate and House, and a productive term that accomplishes the best of God’s will for our country?

Whether our enemies are across the sea or across the aisle, a church member who disagrees with our stance, our neighbor across the street or a disagreeable family member, we are to act in love, and in so much as it depends on us, we are to live in peace with everyone. (Romans 12:18).

Why have we as Christian chosen to become increasingly difficult as models to those of the world? We act just like everyone else, and still expect others to see our humanity, our faith, our love, our patience, our self-control, our generosity of spirit, when our hearts don’t abide in love. For if our hearts had love, we would certainly bear the fruit of that love in our actions. Jesus said that the world would know we were his disciples by our love for one another. It’s no wonder they don’t know us; it’s sadder still they don’t know Him through us.

And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. James 3:18

My Strength

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped;

my heart exults,

and with my song I give thanks to Him.

Psalm 28:7

 

As I reflect on a devotional I read this morning, and on one particular prayer I have written in my journal over the past several months, I realize that God has spoken to me and let me know clearly and succinctly that he has answered my prayer. He has, in fact, answered it all along; I just haven’t listened or obeyed. He reminded me of what having faith and trust in Him is really all about.

Christians talk and sometimes joke about “God’s timing.” We seem surprised when our prayers are answered at “just the right time.” Yet we fail to understand that God has been working all along to set things in place; we just haven’t stopped long enough and looked around to see it. We have to be paying attention to hear God’s voice, to see His work. We must pray continually and reach out to Him in order for us to notice that He is working constantly in our lives.

Moses, Esther, Hannah, Samuel, David, Nehemiah, Daniel; Simeon, Anna, Peter, Paul, and of course Jesus: all examples of people who never stopped praying. Not just once a day, but throughout the day, and throughout their lives.

My prayer has been for the energy to work on the task He has given me in this season of my life. I am often tired, and sleep overtakes me during the day. In my journal today, “Jesus Calling,” by Sarah Young¹, I read the following: “Instead of assessing your energy level, and wondering about what’s on the road ahead, concentrate on staying in touch with Me. My Power flows freely into you through our open communication.”

I will continue to pray each morning, but as I feel tired during the day, I will stop, and talk to God, and ask Him to provide me with His strength, ask the Holy Spirit to give me wisdom, and ask Jesus to intercede so that I may continue in His work.  Perhaps I’ll even just ask Him to take a walk with me, or sit with me and watch the birds in the yard. Who knows?

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2

¹Thomas Nelson Publisher, ©2004, p. 32