Once we reconcile ourselves to the reality of a dreadful event, we may then ask, Why did this horrible thing have to happen? We may never know the full answer, but we can hope and pray that it is used for God’s glory. If a friend had to die, and she was the only believer in her family, may God use her death to bring other family members to Christ. May He spur on other Christians that she knew to further sanctification.


The Westminster Shorter Catechism says that our “chief end” – our purpose in life – is “to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” Above all else, may God be glorified! Though it may take years, once we begin to move through the bitter grief, our horizon of understanding may widen to see the ways that God was glorified and other lives were changed through a tragedy. This is not a cold, pragmatic process. Rather it is an unfolding of God’s knitting everything together for His good purposes. Pray that in time, God will show us the ways He turned what Satan devised as evil into good.