When tragedy comes into an individual Christian's life, it's a real natural and a real healthy response to look in the scriptures for stories of where a similar thing has happened to someone

to see if there's hope for you? How many robbers have looked to the thief on the

cross? How many adulterers have looked to King David, how many murderers have looked to the

Apostle Paul, how many people have denied Christ and then looked to Peter for hope. How many prostitutes have found

hope in the woman whose hair and whose tears washed Jesus' feet.

How many crooked businessmen have looked at Zachias

in order to find hope?

How many demonized people, even in their oppression,

have caught a glimpse of what it might be like to sit in their right mind at Jesus' feet.

When tragedy strikes, I think we're desperate to find a story, an authoritative biblical God-ordained story that somebody else went through this and here's the way God-dealing

and here's the way God dealt with it and here's the way they came out.

And that's not just true for individuals, it's true for churches.

And so what I've been feeling desperately in these days is, Lord, are there stories?

Are there illustrations in the Bible that would help me to have categories that would help me to see what has

happened here in a biblical light that would perhaps shed some light of hope

upon us, is there hope, is there future for a church that's been so deceived for a pastoral

staff for me who should have seen more and acted sooner is their hope for a church when

worship has been so desecrated can God bless us has it all been in vain? Those kinds of questions come and you search the scriptures.

I think that's the real natural and healthy reaction.

Before I take you to a text and just give you something to hang your feelings

on, the Lord did something for me this week. He did lots of things for me in these recent weeks. But this little note from Switzerland

is a special one because I'm wondering if the spouse of this person is here.

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