Death. Loss. We’ve all experienced it. Last month I had the privilege of ministering to the survivors of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Portoviejo, Ecuador on April 16th, 2016. The earthquake hit when most people were already home from work and settling in for the night. People told us it was a night like any other; some were in the shower others were relaxing in front of the television. Then suddenly without any warning the ground shook violently. Over 660 people died as a result of something that took place in less than a minute, Portoviejo claimed more than 200 of those deaths. We learned that in the days following the quake that recovered bodies were laid out in rows for people to come and search for their loved ones. As horrible as that sounds many of them consider themselves lucky that they were even able to recover their loved ones bodies and give them a proper goodbye. One lady I met, Mable, lost quite literally everything. She and 54 other survivors were living in a makeshift tent city that sat atop the cleared ruins of one of their own houses. Mable, 55, told me how she lost her mother, brother, son, and nephew. She told me how some of them were crushed under the debris, others trapped and suffocated unable to be reached in time, and her son whose body was never recovered because it was destroyed by bulldozers. One of the things we helped with while we were there was going in to ‘safe’ buildings and homes and helping to clear out peoples belongings. The downtown area of Portoviejo was so badly hit that no one will ever be able to return to work or live there so the entire area is being demolished. During our time there two large aftershocks measuring 6.8 in magnitude hit, one in the middle of the night and the other just after 12pm. Buildings literally swayed as the ground below us shook. People ran from buildings, every car on the street stopped moving and people got out of their cars and held each other. We were living at a church which also housed members of their congregation who had lost their homes in the first earthquake. We witnessed the terror that shot through their bodies as some sobbed, others had panic attacks, and others literally went running to find their families and make sure everyone they loved was okay.
When I heard we were going to be asked to speak at various small group gatherings I felt God telling me he wanted me to speak. My first thought was absolutely not; these people have been through so much, and besides I was going through my own thing with God where I didn’t always feel like talking to Him or about Him. God told me that it was because of what I was going through in my own life that I was specially qualified to share with people. You see less than two weeks before arriving in Portoviejo I had experienced my own loss. I had learned that my friend Leslee had died. She was only 24 years old and had graduated with her degree in social work only 10 days prior. She was one of the strongest most beautiful and joyful people I had every known and she radiated God’s light and love. I could not come to terms with why she died.
As I said, death and loss are something we have all experienced, and just like the earthquake that happened on a day like any other Leslee died on a normal ordinary day. Big things always happen like that. No one wakes up saying today is the day my family will be taken from me or today is the day I lose my job or find out my spouse is having an affair. Just like an earthquake shakes the ground, life events shake the foundation of our lives.
The following is an excerpt from the sermon I prepared that month but did not have the opportunity to preach:
Sometimes when our foundation is shaken we don’t know what to do or where to turn. We often look for people to blame. In an earthquake, or often in the death of a loved one, there is no one to blame so we cast our blame on God. We wonder if we did something wrong to have deserved this pain.
How many wrong and sins have I committed? Show me my offence and my sin. – Job 13:23
All we see is our pain and loss and we forget and lose hope that good times will come again.
Where then is my hope – who can see any hope for me? – Job 17:15
Though I cry I get no response though I call for help there is no justice. – Job 19:7
The book of Job is a great place to turn when life has got you down and you feel like God has turned against you. Job was a man who was deeply rooted in God and lived a successful prosperous life until suddenly over the course of three days he lost all of his livestock and servants, his children were killed, and he developed sores all over his body. This would cause most people to feel abandoned by God and to turn their backs on Him themselves. I myself got angry with God. I didn’t understand how He could let my friend, who was so young and full of ambition to make this world a better place and spread God’s love, die. I didn’t want to pray or listen to worship music or even talk about God’s love for people. I felt like He had wronged me.
It is okay to feel like that; to be angry with God. But God doesn’t want you to turn your back on Him, instead He wants you to be honest and tell Him how you feel even if you need to do that by yelling at Him. God can take our anger. Job knew this and when everything continued to be taken from rather than turning from God he cried out to Him asking why this was happening and what he had done wrong.
Hear my cry oh God, listen to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to you when my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge a strong tower against the enemy. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. – Psalm 61: 1-4
You may not hear God right away but if you continue to call out to Him and truly listen for an answer the bibles tells us that “Those who seek me find me.” – Proverbs 8:17
And just because God answers you doesn’t mean that you will always get an answer as to why things happen and unfortunately we just need to ask God to help us make peace with that.
“My thoughts are not your thoughts my ways are not your ways” Declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8
Though I cry I get no response though I call for help there is no justice. – Job 19:7
There are countless examples in the bible where people cry out to God telling Him their troubles. The important thing here to remember that these are recorded not to preach at us and tell us what to do but rather to be an example to us; these peoples troubles are recorded in the bible because they told them to God, if they had turned away from God there would be no record of it.
Through the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, and there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Habakkuk 3:17,18
Though the enemy slay me still will I hope in Him. Job 13:15
I would have lost hope if I hadn’t believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13
When we are in these dark time of death and loss it is hard to see the hope that God promises us on the other side. We lose sight of the fact that this isn’t our first trouble in life and like all the other times this one too will pass and one day we will again be joyful. Job lost everything in only three days and endlessly cried out to God even when there was no end in sight but in the end “The Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before” – Job 42:10
The Lord will be your everlasting light and your days of sorrow will end. Isaiah 60:20
Comfort al who mourn and provide for those who grieve. Give them beautify instead of ashes joy instead of mourning, and praise instead of despair. Isaiah 61: 2,3
Whatever you are going through know that God sees your pain and feels it along with you. God isn’t your genie in a bottle that makes life perfect but rather is your comforter, your provider, your rock, and your strength and the bible is there to remind of us that in times where we easily forget.
And pray on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and request. – Ephesians 6:18
