Triumph Out Of Tragedy

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:17

The playwright William Shakespeare wrote numerous classics, some of which are called “tragedies.” Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet are only some of Shakespeare’s more classic tragedies.

Have you ever thought why these plays depict tragedy, indeed, why the stories are, themselves, tragic? It is because in each instance, the characters are victims of their own circumstances and are powerless to free themselves from them.

Not so for the Christian. We have the power to triumph over tragedy, even in situations which might seem hopeless and unredeemable in the world. The key to understanding tragedy is to understand its source.

Death and pain and tragedy came into the world because of sin. Many people blame God for tragedy, but James tells us that “every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights.” Tragedy is a result of sin having entered the world.

But Christ has triumphed over tragedy, and He wants us to do the same because in such triumph God is glorified. Indeed, triumphing over tragedy is a form of witness for Christ. When something tragic happens to us—the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job—unbelievers watch us closely to see whether we react differently than they would. If there is no difference, if we despair as unbelievers might, how is God honored? How do we testify of Christ and His power?

Remember, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:14).

Our Father and our God, thank You for bringing hope and forgiveness to dispel the sin in my life. Help me to triumph over the inevitable tragedies of life through trust and faith in You. Let my joy in the midst of despair honor and glorify You through Jesus. Amen.

Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).