This last Friday (the 4th of July), flash flooding devastated central Texas. As of this writing, there are 104 confirmed deaths, including 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic, a Christian girls camp outside Hunt, Texas. My heart breaks for the grieving families. As a husband and father, it’s difficult to imagine what they must be going through right now. Their sense of loss must be unbearable.

In times of tragedy, people ask, “Why would a God of love allow something so terrible to happen?”

I don’t even want to pretend I have an answer to that question. While the question is often asked, my response must be, “I don’t know why God allowed this particular tragedy.” Some things must be left to the inscrutable wisdom of God.

But here’s what I do know. I know that God is not a cold and distant God, unaware or uninterested in what happens in our life. In fact, I have spoken with many people who have told me that it was right in the middle of tragedy and devastating loss that God drew near and made His presence more real to them.

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18, NIV)

Somehow, in the midst of all the tears and heart-wrenching grief, God Himself comes near in love. He enfolds the crushed in His arms of compassion. 

“God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:3, NLT)

Ultimately, it is the love of Jesus Christ that can bring healing to our deepest wounds. Although no answer to the “why” can ever bring a daughter or a sister back, it can help to know that our God knows what it’s like to live in a broken world under the curse of sin. When we wonder if God cares about our misery, consider Jesus, who clothed Himself in human flesh and walked this planet alongside the hurting, the broken, and the dying. He Himself experienced the grief of losing His dear friend, Lazarus. 

Consider that Jesus didn’t turn away but gazed into the eyes of Mary as she wept for her dead brother. He saw those mourning and felt the deep pangs of emotion stirring in His perfect soul.

When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. (John 11:33, NLT)

Jesus wasn’t merely disturbed; He was angry. How can the Son of God be angry at something in the world He created? Jesus felt a keen sense of anger at what sin and death have done to this world of human beings He created. His compassionate heart longed for the day when He would put all things right, when every tear would be wiped away and death would be no more and His creation would be made new (Revelation 21:4-5).

According to the Bible, it is not God but man who brought death into this world, but Christ’s empty tomb proves that death does not get the last word. 

“Just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man.” (1 Corinthians 15:21, NLT)

Does God care about the flood in Texas? Does He see those parents mourning the loss of their little girl? Beyond question, He does. If you look at the nail-scarred hands of Jesus, you can know that He endured the agony of sin’s curse at a level we could never know in order to redeem this world from that curse. And one day, He will accomplish the final defeat of death, “the last enemy” to be destroyed (v. 26).

I invite you to pray with me for those grieving families.

Father God, You alone can bring the comfort we most need in the midst of devastating heartbreak. Show Your unfathomable love to those grieving families who were devastated by the Texas flood. We can’t understand why, but we thank You for the great love proved by the Cross. And we thank You for the hope of the resurrection of Jesus. May countless people turn to Your merciful heart in this time of deep loss. In Jesus’ mighty Name. Amen.

If you have thoughts on this post, I would love to hear from you.