Today 28 people were killed when a man walked into a elementary school in Connecticut and started shooting. Twenty of the victims were young, so very young children.

When really bad things happen in this world, different people will respond in a different ways. Some of us will respond with fear. We will get scared that the same kind of thing could happen to us. Others of us will get angry. Angry at the person responsible. Angry at God for letting this happen. Still others will become depressed. Sad at the sheer magnitude of what was loss. Sad that we live in this kind of world. When tragic events happen, the world becomes a really sad place.

So what do you do? How do you cope? And where is God in all of this? Was he sleeping at the wheel? Did he go on vacation? If God is so Almighty, why didn’t he stop something like this? Does He really care about us? What am I supposed to do now?

For those who would respond with Fear

When the “horrible” happens, many of us will respond with fear. These events are so random. Who’s to say that the next time it won’t be my turn to suffer? How can any one adequately prepare for the “horrible”?

Sometime it can be helpful to be reminded of what we know about God. We know that God is the creator of the Universe. We know that He see everything. We know that He can do anything. So that when something horrible like this happens, it didn’t happen because God wasn’t able to stop it.

When Satan wanted to harm Job, he had to ask God for permission (Job 1). “Horrible” things do not happen because God couldn’t stop them. On the contrary, think about the miracles. When Pharaoh chased after Moses and the Israelites, God opened up the Red Sea. When the Assyrians surrounded Jerusalem with 185,000 soldiers, what did God do? He sent an angel and slaughtered the entire enemy army (Isaiah 37).

God is that big. Nobody, no force on earth can withstand his power. We don’t have to be afraid of anything in this world. Horrible things don’t happen because God can’t handle them.

For those who would respond in Anger

When the “horrible” happens, many of us will respond with anger.

We can get very angry:

- at the one who is responsible

- at a world where this kind of stuff happens

- at those in charge for failing to protect their people

- at ourselves for being so helpless.

- Most of all, we get angry at God.

Who else can you blame for something so bad? The greater the horror, the greater our need to blame. For the really tragic events, blaming a single individual is …. not enough. The problem with anger is that, that which comes so naturally to us doesn’t do anybody any good. The victims don’t benefit from our anger. The perpetrator doesn’t suffer from our anger. The world doesn’t change because of our anger. Even worse, our anger serves as fertile ground for even more horrible things to happen.

When the horrible happens, anger has a way of perpetuating the problem. We must bring it to an end. The question is how? How do you let go of vengeance that cannot be satisfied?

The answer? Let God take vengeance. Rom 12:19 “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, “it is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

Consider how limited we are in our ability to execute vengeance. We are so flawed, we would only make a bad situation worse and our efforts would not be sufficient. But there is One who is perfect. There is One who can exact vengeance without any limitations. He will be the One who not only punishes the guilty, but He is the One who will also punish the source of the evil, Satan himself.

Mankind was created in the image of God. We are not God. We do not have the capacity to fully handle the need for vengeance without having it destroy us.

For those who would respond in anger, we have a sobering choice. Hold on to our vengeance, rely on our weak imperfect inability to exact justice, and let our anger cause even more destruction. OR ... OR relinquish our anger to the Lord.

“It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

For those who would respond with Sadness

When the “horrible” happens to children, one can not help but respond with sadness. Who can adequately measure the loss of a young child’s life? When the horrible happens, where is God? Why would he let such young children die? What could possibly explain the reason for letting this happen?

We need to remember that God did not cause this. God create a perfect haven in the Garden of Eden. In the Garden of Eden, life was perfect. There was no sickness. There was no evil. There were no problems. Life was perfect. It was mankind that chose to rebel. It was mankind that chose to sin. All the problems we see in this world stem from this rebellion against God. This mess is not God’s fault. It is ours.

However, the story doesn’t end there. Our God loves us so dearly. Our God is so mighty that He can redeem the “horrible.” He can use it for good. Look at the life of Joseph. His brothers sell him into slavery. He spent years of his life in prison for a crime he did not commit. Yet this is the man who is telling his brothers “Do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” (Genesis 45)

Throughout the Bible, we see time and time again, God taking the “horrible” and redeeming it for good. When Moses was born, Pharoah was bent on slaughtering all the baby boys (Exodus 1.) During Ester’s time, the entire Jewish nation faced extinction (Book of Esther). When Lazarus died, Mary and Martha thought they had lost everything (John 11). Yet, in all of these circumstances God was glorified.

The truth of the matter is that this world we lived in is defective. When mankind chose to rebel against God, we destroyed the perfection that God originally created. Yet God in his great love for us hasn’t abandoned us to suffer the full consequences of our sin. God took the most “horrible” of all events in the history of mankind, the crucifixion of his Son and redeemed it for the salvation of all of mankind.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

In this world, “Horrible” things will continue to happen. When they do, they will cause fear, anger, and sadness. The good news is that God is so big that He can handle the horrible. He will take vengeance. He has sent his Son to save His people. We don’t have to just endure the mess of this world.

There is coming a time when all the “horrible” things in this world will come to an end.

Some day we will enjoy a perfect life with God that will last for all of eternity.

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