Where is God when tragedy strikes?

In the course of a recent visit, someone told me of a time when their son died of cancer.  To lose a child must surely be one of the worst of all life experiences.  Those of us who have never suffered such a dreadful event can hardly imagine the pain and anguish a parent must experience in such circumstances.  To lose someone we know and love is always hard to come to terms with, even if that person has lived into a good old age, but to lose a child, whom we have loved and nurtured, must bring pain beyond words.

During my lifetime many of the areas of life which were once regarded as taboo subjects are no longer regarded as such.  Death, however, still remains an area which many try to avoid thinking about.  When someone we know is bereaved we can find it difficult to know how to respond to them, and can become tongue-tied and embarrassed when we meet them.  Sometimes we hear the unhelpful advice such as "you'll get over it" or "time is a great healer".  Perhaps more accurate is what I once heard someone say, "the pain never goes away, you just get used to it being there."

Inevitably the question of God's involvement in times of tragedy comes to the fore at times.  Why did God allow this event to happen?  Where is God in this tragedy?  Of course we can't run away from such questions.  And it's certainly no good offering simple platitudes or simplistic answers to such deep questions.  Perhaps in the end there are no perfect answers.  One thing we can say, however, is that although God never promises that life will always be easy, he does promise that he will be with us in every circumstance of life.

I am currently reading the biography of Justin Welby, the (fairly) new Archbishop of Canterbury.  It is a fascinating read.  The book relates how Welby and his wife Caroline experienced family tragedy themselves when their 7-month old daughter Johanna died as a result of a traffic accident, after having spent 5 days in intensive care.  When such a personal and horrific tragedy strikes a person of faith, that faith is put to its ultimate test.  The testimony of the Welbys is remarkable.  Caroline Welby has said of that time, "I have never felt God as close as I did that week ... It was the worst time, and yet for me it was a time of extreme closeness to God in that pain." 

God has given a wonderful promise in the Bible, 'I will never leave you or forsake you.'  If tragedy strikes our lives, we may not be able to answer all the questions which invade our thoughts.  But we can know for certain that if we reach out to God we will discover that he is true to his word.  As Justin Welby himself has written, "Our children belong to God, as we do, and both our future and theirs is in his hands."