Making Sense Out of Seeming Senselessness

Our world can be amazing and awesome. At other times, however, it can be confusing, confounding, sometimes inconceivable. Watching the evening news, reading a newspaper (online or the old-fashioned paper variety), or following social media for more than a few minutes can have us scratching our heads. Every day society seems to be creating a new form of crazy.

 

But it’s not just the violence, natural disasters, global conflict and political chicanery. It’s the befuddling stuff that goes on in our own lives. An excited young couple has their hopes dashed when the baby they’ve been preparing for is stillborn. A young man who has eagerly responded to a call from God to become a preacher falls from a cliff, leaving him a paraplegic. After years of working with diligence and excellence, a man is laid off from his job, a victim of ‘downsizing.’ A young woman’s fiancé is killed while deployed in the Middle East only weeks before their wedding date.

 

The list could go on. We’ve all experienced times when life just doesn’t make sense. Maybe you’re going through such a time right now. We can read Bible promises like Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” But in the midst of a great hardship or devastating heartbreak, those words might seem empty. “How is God going to work good out of this?!” we might wonder or even ask aloud.

 

Recently I was reminded of a wonderful song, "Trust His Heart," first recorded by Babbie Mason in 2001. Its message resonates as strongly as it did then. A recurring refrain in the song states, “So when you don’t understand, when you don’t see His plan, when you can’t trace His hand, trust His heart.” 

 

In everyone’s life there are times we don’t understand, when we don’t see God’s plan in what’s happening, and when we can ‘t trace His hand – almost like He’s absent or indifferent. However, if we trust in the Scriptures and the assurances the Lord gives us through them, we know He hasn’t fallen asleep, gone on vacation or abandoned us.

 

Even in the midst of the most severe trial, we can cling to His promises, such as ones He gave through the prophet Jeremiah. For instance, in Jeremiah 29:11 He says, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” The outworking of this promise immediately follows: “Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”

 

For many of us the senseless, unthinkable assassination of Charlie Kirk remains on our minds. We might wonder how such a thing could have happened – how God could have allowed it to happen. This tragic act ranks high among the things that don’t make sense.

 

The final chapter of Kirk’s life, however, has yet to be written even though he’s no longer living among us. His non-profit, Turning Point USA, remains very active and possibly more visible than ever. In some respects, it may be more vibrant now than when he was touring college campuses, holding forums, and debating some of the most pressing social issues of the day.

 

Sometimes for a movement of God to gain momentum, the death of a prominent leader is necessary. Jesus being crucified on the cross is the ultimate example. As He Himself said, predicting His own death, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24).

 

I’ve heard and read reports of numerous college campuses where evangelistic outreach meetings have attracted thousands of students, with many of them professing faith in Christ and even being baptized. I believe this is part of a much greater plan of God, with Kirk’s mission and vision being a small piece of what He’s doing across our nation and around the world.

 

We could cite countless other examples of how God has transformed seeming tragedy and great hardship into marvelous trophies of His love, grace and mercy. Hearing about those can encourage us as we go through our own trials and tribulations. 

It helps to remember what God has said about our incapacity to comprehend what He’s up to: “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts'” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Trusting God’s heart, even when we don’t understand, can’t see His plan or trace His hand, will go a long way in enabling us to cling to hope in Him even when all seems hopeless.