Last week, the news caught our attention as it was reported two bombs went off during the running of the Boston Marathon.
Over and over, we watched as video clips caught the explosions and the panic that took place shortly after. It all took place near the finish line of this great race, which is actually the oldest marathon in history, running for some 147 years. But as I watched the video clips being shown over and over, there were some things that caught my attention.
There were video clips of runners who after the explosions, turned around to see what had happened. Then there were the video scenes of not only police officers and firemen helping the wounded, but also showing every day people and even runners in the race who didn't think twice about helping out those who were in need the most. Then there were the people who were watching the race, who were panic - struck when the bombs went off, not knowing which way to run. And then there were was the reporting of the facts, which touched us deeply as the reports came in of the two young ladies who were killed.
One was a Chinese student studying at the local university, the other had just come to Boston to join a friend and to watch this friend’s boyfriend run in the race. But all of us wrestled more with this senseless act as we heard that eight-year-old Martin Richard was killed in the blast. His sister lost part of a leg and his mother suffered a severe head injury. They were just standing there waiting for their father and husband to cross the finish line.
It’s hard to make sense of this senseless tragedy. But what really caught my eye were the still photographs that have been shown on the news reports of this tragedy. Pictures of people helping out those who were hurt ... runners looking back trying to see what had happened .... a man walking away with his clothes torn almost to shreds by the blast. But the one still photograph that caught what every person was looking for that day was the picture of an older woman half kneeling, with her hands together as if in prayer, looking up for one thing .... hope. Hope in the middle of something where there seemed to be none.
For most of us, we will never find ourselves a part of such a senseless tragedy, but we all face times that are demanding, shocking, challenging and sometimes senseless. And when all seems to come tumbling down around us, what we want most is some sign that there is hope for our struggles. And the good news is, that there is hope. When our lives read “insufficient funds,” when we are overdrawn, God offers to cover our shortfalls. In fact, Jesus was the only one who walked this earth claiming to have an answer for our burdens.
“Come to Me” He invited people... and the people came. They came out of the cul de sacs and office complexes of their day. They brought Him the burdens of their existence, and He gave them not religion, not doctrine, not systems... He gave them rest. And that is what He still offers us today.
No matter what goes on in our world or personal lives, God’s presence never diminishes, it is always there offering us hope if we will ask for it ... receive it. God offers us hope and comfort in the Bible. For instance, in Romans 8:28 it says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
Someone may respond to this and say, “Isn’t that kind of cruel considering for instance what just happened in Boston?” But really this verse is one of the most helpful, comforting, hope - giving verses there is. It announces that God is sovereign in any painful, tragic situation we or others in our world face. Why? Because we know God is at work.
Some may say, “I don’t see where He is working? Where was God when those bombs went off in Boston?” Well, God was right there. He felt the panic, the pain, the sense of loss people were feeling when the explosions took place. He knew what the people were and still are feeling, He identifies with them... with us. And in ways we don’t understand God is at work.
Sometimes we can conclude that if God doesn’t fit into the framework of our understand and doesn’t act as we think He should, that He is not real or at least not interested. But God is greater than we can imagine. And so, when hope seems not to be there, we need to do what that older woman in that still photograph at the Boston Marathon did ... we are encouraged to stop and look up to God for the hope we need.
If you are facing your own challenge or tragedy right now, can I encourage you to just receive the hope God wants to give you today? It doesn’t mean you have to understand everything, the whys of what happened. But you simple say, “God, I want your hope, please give it to me. And what I don’t understand, I will trust you to somehow take care of things.” Hope is found in trusting God to do what we can’t. I hope you will.
This column is submitted by Tri-Community Baptist Church in Beiseker.
