Tragedy

tragedynoun1 the tragedy of his early death | an age of tragedy and conflict: disaster, calamity, catastrophe, cataclysm, devastation, misfortune, misadventure, mishap, reverse, vicissitude, setback, trial, tribulation, affliction, blight, injury, adversity, sad event, serious accident; shock, blow; pain, sorrow, misery, distress, agony, unhappiness, sadness, disappointment; informal bummer. 
Tragedies happen all around us. Accidents, calamities, weather catastrophes, and senseless murders. I preached the funeral today for a gentleman that was murdered. No other way to say it but cold blooded murdered. What do you say to families on such occasions? What words of comfort can you really give? Some preachers try to be clever. They try to sound eloquent. I learned a long time ago to just tell the truth. Sometimes we do not understand why bad things happen to people. Like I always say, we live in a sinful fallen world filled with evil people who do evil things. It doesn't always make sense.The only real comfort I can give is to point people to the truth of God's word. They may not like everything God's word has to say. Some of it is harder to digest than others. Like when God says in [Is 55:8-9] that His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. He knows what He is doing even if we do not. One of the things I share at most funerals is [Heb 9:27] which states it is appointed once for man to die and after this comes the judgment. Death is not something most people think about from day to day. Yet it happens all the time around us. People just don't consider the truth that it will happen to them eventually should Jesus tarry and to those they love. Death is just as much a part of life as a newborn baby born. Children are born and others die. It is part of the cycle of life. Sometimes they die in tragic circumstances. Death is 100%. None of us are immune. There is a year, a month, a week, a day, an hour, a minute, even down to a second when we will bring our last breath on planet earth. Many do not think about that day and prepare for it. That is a foolish mistake. The salvation of the soul is the most important thing anyone can ever do. Not to do it is to face certain damnation. It is worth consideration and asking Jesus for forgiveness, salvation, and redemption. Failure to do this will lead to certain eternal doom. No exceptions. I have preached the funeral of a three month old baby who died of SIDS. I have preached the funeral of a young mother cut down in the prime of life. I have preached funerals for those who died in car wrecks. Others included people who died from cancer. One person fell off their roof. Alzheimers has claimed the lives of others for whom I officiated at their funerals.   I had never preached the funeral of someone who was murdered before. That was a first. Tragic. Sorrowful. In any and every circumstance the truth of God's word still prevails. His truth is applicable on all occasions. His truth is timeless in tragedy as well as in triumph. Verses like [Ps 34:18], [Ps 23:1-6], [Ps 46:1], [Ps 50:15], and [Jn 16:33] never become outdated and irrelevant. They are never obsolete. In tragic times I know of no better words than the words of scripture to help people through the toughest seasons of their lives. In those moments God's word comforts, strengthens, and brings a measure of peace when nothing else can. It is on those words I choose to build my life and encourage others to do the same. For surely if we do build on that solid foundation, we will not crumble when the storms of life slam against us. [Matt 7:24-29] We can still have help and hope to carry on.