Dealing with Tragedy
Dan Kunz
In the early morning hours of June 30, WELS missionary Steve Witte, his adult daughters, Charis Kuehl and Lydia Witte, and his granddaughters, Stella Kuehl, Lena Henselin, and Merci Henselin died in a horrific fire near Necedah, Wisconsin. Although any loss of life under tragic circumstances is heart-rending, the loss of life of multiple family members is even worse. When it’s someone with whom you somehow have a connection, the pain is numbing. For those of you who regularly read these CLE blogs, you know that our own family lost six family members in 2023. All but one of those were through what would be called “natural causes”. Catastrophic circumstances certainly lead even strong Christians to seek answers and comfort. In today’s blog, I’ll try to remind readers of a few truths from God’s Word and a few personal observations from the past year.
It’s a perfectly natural human reaction to ask “Why?” Why would a kind, loving God allow tragic death to happen? Job, himself, eventually came to question God and God had to firmly point out to him that he, Job, didn’t know or understand the things of God. In other words, although we may not understand, God has reasons for allowing things to happen. If God did explain, we probably wouldn’t understand it anyway. When we profess to have “faith” in God, that doesn’t just mean faith in the fact that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, came into the world to live a perfect life and die a perfect death to remove our guilt and enable us to be with him in heaven for eternity, it also means we have faith in God’s omniscience and love. God knows all things and loves us enough to alter events for our ultimate benefit and blessing. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to give you peace, not disaster, plans to give you hope and a future. Boy, that’s hard to hear at times of tragedy and heartache, but we need to remember that God's plan is for our ultimate future, not necessarily for a perfect and pain-free immediate future.
Anyone who has undergone any kind of surgery knows that in the process of the surgery, nerves are sometimes cut or damaged. A great deal of pain may accompany the surgery, but, over time, the healing process lessens the pain. It may never be completely gone, but it does diminish. As I’ve written before, whoever wrote or said, “Time heals all wounds,” isn’t accurate. The passing of time diminishes the pain, but it doesn’t eliminate it. That’s part of the reason we long for heaven! Revelation 7:17 …for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Things do get better and will finally be perfect when we’re reunited with our loved ones in heaven.
2 Corinthians 1:4 …who comforts us in all our trouble, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the same comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. The theme for next year’s Christian Leadership Experience is “Blessed 2 Bless”. We truly are blessed to be a blessing to others. When any of us suffers loss, tragedy, or challenges in life, we are strengthened and comforted, not only by our loving God, but also by our fellow believers. Having been through terrible circumstances in our own life enables us to better understand and serve those who are currently undergoing terrible circumstances. Trite phrases and clichéd comments aren’t helpful. True empathy is what’s needed and appreciated. Such experiences also enable us to share the hope which we have with others. How Christians deal with tragedy can lead others to Jesus and our assurance of comfort by the Good Shepherd.
God bless all those affected by this terrible tragedy and remain steadfast in the knowledge of God’s ultimate love for all of us!