Tag Archives: trust

Bible Study Guide ~ There is Life After Tragedy

STUDY GUIDE FOR CHAPTER 6 ~ THE AFTERMATH

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A note from the author: I have spent the past five posts preparing us for the hard stuff—how to deal with the effects of tragedy. There is no easy path, no cut-and-dried process, and no set-in-stone way to deal with it. Yet, for the child of God, there is God’s way to face the devastating events in life. In this guide we will attempt to unpack God’s truths for us. Let’s do it! ~ Sarah Jane

1.  What Does Aftermath Mean Anyway?

Up until this one, the previous lessons have flowed easily from my heart. I did not have to search for ideas, content, or questions that brought rhyme and reason to the topic to be discussed. They were just there—right on the tips of my fingers as I typed. So why is this chapter different? Could it be because none of us want to talk about painful things?

In my book, There Is Life after Tragedy, I started Chapter 6 with the following words: “Aftermath seems like an ugly word to me….” If you have suffered a great loss of life, you know exactly why aftermath is an ugly word. For those who have endured one or more deaths at the same time, the ugliness is multiplied many times over. Tragedy can exponentially increase the pain and heartbreak as the reality of the loss soaks into our hearts and minds. In short, it is indeed ugly.

Do you know any other descriptive words that clearly depict aftermath?

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Although aftermath is ugly, it is also normal and necessary. We will all have to deal with aftermath someday, even for the loss of a loved one who dies of old age. Why? Because loss of life always forces us to face the “What’s next for me?” question. The many changes and challenges that lie ahead make up a large portion of the aftermath. What used to be is no longer. Who used to be with us is not here anymore. In fact, for many people, everything changes.

On page 46 of my book, I listed fifteen unpleasant things that humans have to deal with that create an aftermath in our lives. Things such as death, accidents, divorce, coronavirus, etc. However, I have come to realize that the list is not a complete list, and I’m not sure there is a complete list. Perhaps that is why the last line of my list says: “after, after, after….”

What gut-wrenching life events could you add to my list?

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The Oxford Dictionary defines aftermath as “consequences of a significant unpleasant event.” While we may not classify all losses as tragic, we must understand that tragedy comes in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes we have to clean up a mess someone else made, and sometimes we have to clean up our own mess. Regardless, we all need one thing in order to survive the aftermath—God!

2.  We Are Never Alone

God never expects His children to go through any part of life by ourselves. We always have His Presence with us. We always have His Peace inside us. We always have His Grace covering us. If we have asked Jesus to save us and send the Holy Spirit to come and live in our hearts, then He did both of those things. The truth is that we are truly never alone! Our challenge is to learn how to tap into that Source that indwells all believers.

To get over this mountain called aftermath, we simply must lean on God’s promises to get us there. He means what He says, and we can trust what He says in the darkest hours of life. If He fails us there, how can we trust Him with our eternal destiny? It is a rock-solid, iron-clad truth that God’s Word never fails!

What can you do right now to get that one issue settled in your heart and mind once and for all?

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For our scripture reading for this lesson, I want us to look at Isaiah 43:1-3a. I have included it below from the New Living Translation.

1 But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.

2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

3 For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

If we read Isaiah’s life story, we would realize that he had firsthand knowledge about deep waters, rivers of difficulty, and the fires of oppression. He was certainly validated to write about such hard things. His words of comfort to us in these verses are encouraging to say the least. The truth is that Isaiah knew these statements by experience because he had trusted in God for survival and God did not fail him.

Have you ever had a situation in your life when you trusted in God and then experienced His divine help where you were not afraid, not alone, didn’t drown, or were not consumed by your trials? Those kinds of experiences are truly a hallmark of our faith in a Faithful God. Briefly list one or more those experiences below.

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3. What’s So Amazing About Grace?

Obviously, I believe that God’s grace is amazing since I donated over two full pages to that subject in my book. Actually, grace is a big deal. Without it we would all be in big trouble—in this world and in eternity. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Grace is a gift God has chosen to give to His children. We cannot earn it, buy it, steal it, borrow it, or con God out of it. All we can do is ask for it, believe He says “yes” to our prayers, receive it by faith, and testify to what He has given to us. In real terms, God gives us grace because He wants to.

When it comes to receiving God’s help to survive an aftermath, our greatest ally is grace. It is freely supplied to those who ask Him for it. You may be thinking—but how do we receive this grace; how do we make it ours? The answer is clear: we receive grace exactly the same way we got saved—by faith! We will receive grace through faith, making faith the vehicle by which grace becomes a reality in our lives.

We’ve already settled the fact that God cannot lie. Since God is incapable of breaking a promise, then any disconnect must be on our end. When we think He is silent, think again. God doesn’t have to use words—His presence, peace, grace, and love all speak volumes to our hurting souls. So, in those times when it seems as though God is silent, we must use our faith to stir our faith!

But how do we use our faith to stir our faith? It’s basically quite simple. If you are a born-again believer is Jesus Christ, you only got there one way—by faith, as discussed above in Ephesians 2:8-9. Read this next sentence very carefully: you already have faith inside of you. It just needs to be activated once again—stirred up, if you will. You don’t need to start asking God for something you already have. We simply recall or bring to our remembrance the times He has blessed us, answered our prayers, and showed up just in time. Our trust in Him is what God responds to—not begging! Tell Him you trust Him, and mean it. Practice doing what you did at least once in your life. Then practice it again, and watch Him smile down some grace on you, along with hope, comfort and strength in your dark moments. It is true—grace is amazing!

Think of a current issue that is difficult for you to manage. Why not ask God for His amazing grace to help you get through this time? Briefly identify it here, and later come back and record what God did for you.

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Record follow up here:

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If you have never asked Jesus to forgive you for your sins and give you eternal life, why not ask Him right now? He is always ready and willing to answer that prayer, and He will come into your heart and save you. Next, share your decision with another Christian. You can also leave me a comment in the comment section, and I will respond to you.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I am learning just how much I need you, and that you are more than willing to help me through the difficult times. I am grateful for your faithfulness and no matter how hard life looks, I am never alone and your amazing grace is always available to me. With every trial that comes my way, my faith is growing and getting stronger. I long to trust you more. Help me remember to ask for your help, believe I will receive it, and give you thanks in everything. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen. 

Vision

Doing something is what we are about ~ even if it doesn’t work

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It comes as little surprise to anyone that doing nothing is not the best option for almost any problem we face. Actually, the only time that doing nothing is acceptable is when God says to “stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” In those times, it is totally in our best interest to do nothing.

 

But instructions to do nothing are rare. God most often gives us something to do, and our greatest challenge is to hear from Him what that something is. While God’s Word is full of commands and guidelines in any given situation, we humans have a tendency to make up our own rules.

 

When God says “believe,” we doubt that believing will be enough.

When He says “trust,” we try to change the circumstances.

When He tells us to “wait,” we rush ahead to accomplish our own goals.

 

As proactive get-er-done people, doing something is what we are about—even if it doesn’t work!

 

In fact, we are so busy doing what we think are the right things that we don’t have time to find out what God actually wants us to do. I fear that is the case in restoring America, repairing our communities and schools, reviving our churches, salvaging our families, and most importantly, saving ourselves from the demise of overload, both physically and spiritually.

 

The truth is—we are tired. We are tired from doing all the many things we believe will fix our problems; yet the things we have spent our energy doing haven’t worked. For starters:

 

  • We hear a Politian commit to fix the nation’s problems; yet all too soon we are vastly disappointed. We quickly look for the next Politian.
  • We participate in an improvement program in our community or school, and eventually see that the task is too big and our resources too small. We set out to recruit more people and raise more money.
  • We get excited when our church announces a new trendy campaign to revive it members, but after it has come and gone, little had changed. We don’t understand why it failed, since it seemed like such a great plan.
  • We commit to spending more time with our family, but when work, school, and sports scream for attention, we yield to their      demands. Family relationships suffer, and we whine because it has to be so hard.
  • And then there is our personal time with God—what we call a “quiet time.” Since there’s no quiet time to be had in my life, surely God understands and will let me off the hook. I’m sure I’ll do better next year, or when the kids grow up, and definitely when I retire.

 

Does any of that sound like your life? It does mine. So why is doing what seems to be perfectly good ideas not working for us?  Here’s why:

 

God did not tell us to look to political leaders for the answers.

God did not promise that our communities and schools will be better through humanitarian efforts.

God is not obligated to bring revival to His people through any manmade campaign.

God said that we will reap what we sow, and family relationships are not exempt.

God does not reveal Himself to those who want to spend time with Him—only to those who do.

 

Be assured that God has something for us to do! Doing nothing or doing the wrong things will never yield the right results. Our nation, communities, schools, churches, families and personal lives are suffering today because we have done too much of the wrong things.

 

It is surprising when at last we discover what it is that God wants us to do. It is not hard, or difficult, or impossible. We would not give our children something to do that was beyond their capability. And neither would God!  ~ Janie Kellogg