Giving Thanks Turns Tragedy into Triumph

by Pastor Mur

Most of us have heard the scripture that states “God so loved the world…” This means that God loves each of us. God loves you no matter where you are or what the circumstances of life that you may face.

I have a friend named Jack who is wheelchair bound. He broke his neck in a motorcycle accident twelve years ago, and will never walk or work again. I know a woman whose seven year old daughter was run over by a drunk driver. That little seven year old girl is now in her early thirties, and has been unable to function in any sense of that word for almost a quarter of a century. I know a chap who is dying with Aids and a man who has lost his leg to diabetes and others.

I am in regular touch with an inmate at one of our correctional facilities. He became a Christian in prison several years ago; his wife and children need him at home, and he wants to be the man that God wants him to be, but his last petition for parole was turned down. I know a hundred and more other folks who lived through similar tales of hurt, abuse, neglect, sickness, disappointment, betrayal, violation and every type of wound or horror that one can suffer.

If I had time to tell you the experiences of these several hundred, you would find that a common thread, a crimson thread, runs through all their stories. That thread is that they all cried out to God, seeking an answer to the question, “Why me?” and asking for relief from what they faced. A few can tell of instant miraculous deliverance from their dilemmas, but the great majority will tell us that God turned their tragedy into triumph as day followed day.

Scripture tells us to give thanks in all circumstances of our lives; that we are to rejoice in all things for they are the will of God for your life. Does that mean that God wills we experience tragedy and overwhelming losses? No, that is not what is intended here. God so loves us each of us that he allows us to choose our paths through life, to do what we want, and to pass on how our choices affect others. God’s will for each of us is what we will or want to do, and at times, the affect of time and chance, deserved or not, through which we all travel.

God’s intent, his hope, his only purpose is that we would diligently seek him in every circumstance of life – the good times and the terrible times too. Crying out to God turns moments of despair and regret into life-changing triumph. Only God can add up or total all our losses – our hurts, and end up with a plus. Only God can turn your morning into dancing.

This is the time of the year when we pause and give thanks. Thank you God for all I have experienced. Would you use all that I have lived through for my good?

About the Author

H. Murray Hohns went home to be with Jesus on November 28, 2012. He was on staff at the largest church in Hawaii and served on his denomination’s investment committee from 1999 until his death. Hohns held two degrees in Civil Engineering, an MA in Theology from Fuller Seminary, and served as an instructor at Foursquare’s New Hope Christian College (formerly Pacific Rim Christian College) in Honolulu. He wrote six engineering books and hundreds of articles in every type of newspaper, magazine and journal.

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