We Will Not Be Consumed: How To Cope With Tragedy

It’s hard to not feel overwhelmed with sadness when the world around us is reeling from tragedy.  News of natural disasters, mass shootings and wars assaults our soul and can cause our faith to falter. We wish there was something we could do to make a difference, but since we feel so far away from the tragedy, we feel helpless. So we turn off the news and distract ourselves with the busy-ness of our own lives. We know, of course, this isn’t a satisfying way to cope, but what can we do?

Over the next few weeks, my blog will focus on four ways we can be people of strength and light in the midst of a world that has become fragile and dark:

We can set our mind and keep it set. It’s easy to become cynical, fearful, and hopeless when we look at all that’s happening in our world. But Colossians 3:2 wisely instructs us, “Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value].” As people of God, we are never without hope. If we look hard enough, we can always find stories of beauty rising from the ashes of tragedy. We must set our minds on the beauty and use it to season our conversations with our kids, family and friends. When we do this, we deprive evil of its power. We make room for good to triumph in our hearts and in the hearts of those we influence.

We can remember God’s promises. The Bible is so full of God’s promises, that it really isn’t possible to count them. He promises to be with us and to help us in time of need. He promises to bring overwhelming good from an overwhelmingly bad situation. His promises are endless, and they are there for us to nestle ourselves into when we feel cynical, hopeless and afraid. His promises are good news! When we hold out the light of God’s promises, we hold out strength and hope for others to grab hold of. Second Corinthians 1:20 says, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through (Jesus) the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.”

We can pray. Prayer is not the least we can do. It’s the most. When disaster strikes, God calls his people to prayer, saying, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14). Prayer honors God. Prayer moves the hand of God. Prayer brings healing to our land.

We can tangibly help. A friend and I were talking recently about how to tangibly help those most affected by the latest tragedies. She said she didn’t know what organization to trust with her money, so she settled for saying yes at the checkout line when the cashier asked her if she would like to donate to the relief fund. I chuckled, completely relating to her struggle and knowing our “yes” at the checkout line does little to satisfy our desire to help. So here’s what I’m going to do. Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to research organizations and ways we, along with our kids, can tangibly help. When it comes time for the blog post that focuses on this point, I will offer those resources to you too, so that together, we can make a difference!

Want to be a difference maker? Stay with me on my blog for the next few weeks as I dig deeper into each point. Invite a friend to join the conversation. Together we can bring strength and light to our hurting world.  

Anna Frye is a speaker, author, television host and founder of the Chosen and Crowned tribe. She invites moms and wives to celebrate imperfect progress fueled by the grace of a perfect God. She helps women bravely talk about the messy places of life, instead of hiding shamefully under them. She believes that lasting beauty comes when women courageously surrender their ashes to God and allow him to do something mind-blowingly amazing with them. If this resonates with you, then you belong with the Chosen and Crowned tribe. Connect at www.ChosenAndCrowned.com/blog