Time and time again he was swallowed up by sorrow … his
life experiences resulted in the full expression of this rawest of emotions.
When Ryan was a young boy, his mother died and then he was held back in school.
Later on, Ryan noticed a lump in his chest and became increasingly troubled when
it just wouldn't go away. A doctor soon delivered a devastating diagnosis:
lymphoma.
Ryan's weekly routine
included two trips to the hospital for chemotherapy, but even cancer couldn't
squelch a common teenage thrill – driving. Late one evening, Ryan had gotten
permission from his dad to move the family SUV off the street and into the
driveway of their home. No sooner had Ryan slid behind the wheel … when the
deafening sound of gunfire riddled the nighttime air.
Ryan's older brother
bolted outside and discovered Ryan on the ground with a bullet wound to the
back, shouting, "They were trying to steal the truck. They were trying to steal
the truck!" The criminals sped off in their compact sedan, having arrived as
would-be thieves but leaving as cold-blooded killers. Ryan Lara died a few
moments later on the front porch of his home.
In the most grievous of
ironies, Ryan was expected to fully recover from cancer. Everyone anticipated
Ryan turning 16, getting that prized driver's license, going on dates and
driving himself to football practice. No one could have imagined that he'd
experience a fatal bullet wound in his very own front yard.
It doesn't take long in
such deeply sorrowful situations to start asking … Why? Why did this happen? If
God is God, why did He allow this to happen?
The Bible makes it very
clear that God is sovereign over everything that happens on earth, including
every single incident in our individual lives. And while He doesn't always give
us specific reasons for why we experience specific tragedies, by faith we are
called to trust Him, to believe that in His unfathomable wisdom He is using
those experiences to accomplish His perfect will.
Romans 8:28 gives us
comforting assurance: "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." God can work
miracles … in all things. Think about it … aren't there countless testimonies to
substantiate that promise? How many times have we heard about incredible acts of
kindness and incredible life transformations that have been birthed from
tragedy?
Right now, understandably,
those who knew and loved Ryan Lara are mourning the tragic loss of such a
promising young man. But all who grieve, all around the world, should recognize
a steady undercurrent of truth in tragedy: Because of the sovereignty of God,
pain … can be purposeful.
If you're
struggling, discover …
12 Purposes for Pain in the Midst of Grief and
Suffering
1. Produces perseverance, character and
hope in us
"We also glory in our
sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance,
character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's
love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been
given to us" (Romans 5:3-5).
2. Saves lives both physically and
spiritually
"You intended to harm me,
but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of
many lives" (Genesis 50:20).
3. Develops our dependence on
Him
"The widow who is really
in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to
pray and to ask God for help" (1 Timothy 5:5).
4. Causes us to cry out to
Him
"I cry aloud to the LORD;
I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy, I pour out before him my complaint;
before him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you
who watch over my way" (Psalm 142:1-3).
5. Humbles our
hearts
"Remember how the LORD
your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and
test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep
his commands" (Deuteronomy 8:2).
6. Furthers our
faith
"These have come so that
the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which
perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honor
when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Peter 1:7).
7. Shows His strength in our
weaknesses
"I delight in weaknesses,
in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak,
then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10).
8. Causes us to share in Christ's
sufferings
"Dear friends, do not be
surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though
something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate
in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is
revealed" (1 Peter 4:12-13).
9. Reveals His heart to
us
"Those who suffer he
delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction" (Job
36:15).
10. Teaches and trains
us
"No discipline seems
pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of
righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews
12:11).
11. Conforms us to
Christ
"It is commendable if
someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious
of God. … If you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable
before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving
you an example, that you should follow in his steps" (1 Peter
2:19-21).
12. Makes us a conduit of comfort to
others
" comforts us in all our
troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we
ourselves receive from God" (2 Corinthians 1:4).
None of us is immune from
unspeakable tragedy like what the Lara family has experienced; no one truly
knows what each day holds. But God does … and He promises to never abandon us
and to never fail to use our pain for His indescribably great, eternal
purposes.
- christian post
