Is There Hope For the Future?

"And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, "For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed." (Genesis 4:25 NKJ)

Tragedy . . . how does one deal with tragedy? Like so many people around me, I have seen my share of tragic events. Over the span of years in the ministry, I have sat in hospital family rooms with families grieving over their tragedies. It is the most difficult part of a pastor's ministry.

A shepherd cannot sit with hurting sheep and not be touched by their pain. The Hebrews pastor wrote, "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." Thank God for our High Priest!

In addition to the "why" question, there are thousands more running through one's mind when tragedy strikes. How can I get through this? Will life go on? How can I carry on after this? And on, and on, and on . . .

In my ministry, I have often questioned whether Eve had similar questions after Abel's death. That particular tragedy was made worse by the fact that her older son had killed the younger one. How does a family go forward after such an ordeal?

In the 21st century, we are confronted regularly with tragic stories of family members killing close relatives (spouse killing spouse; parent killing children; and so forth). And without fail, many wonder how they can go on after such an ordeal.

Adam and Eve are good examples of what to do after failures and tragedies. Trust God and start over. Pick up the pieces and begin again. Accept the reality of the past and look to the future. We all have a future! The only question is this: what will it look like? If I will continue to trust God, the future will be good . . . very good.

Dear Father, thank you for Christ who forgives us our failures and allows us to renew our lives in him. Empower us to release the past and receive the seed you have appointed us for our future. I pray this in the name of Jesus. AMEN

There is hope in him who is God's appointed Seed,