“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with YAHVEH through our Adonai Yeshua HaMashiach: by Whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of YAHVEH. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of YAHVEH is shed abroad in our hearts by Ruach HaKodesh which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:1 – 5) The book of Romans, is often called the Bible’s most grand theological treatise. And it is. But far more than being only a collection of abstract doctrinal ideas, the book arose out of the author’s pastoral heart. The Christians then and there hurt. The preacher Paul, himself acquainted with pain, wrote to encourage them in their dark hours of sorrow. Conflicted because we carry within us the dark nature of Adam’s race, we are called by the apostle to set our faces on the second Adam, who provides encouragement in the days of our lives and in the end, ushers in the eternal Kingdom of which we are a part. Tragedy comes to us all; but tragedy doesn’t win. Thus we begin here:

1.) Tragedy in some form comes to all people. The presence of evil in a good world has been debated for centuries. Why some say, do the righteous suffer? The Bible tells over and again of people just like us today, who were fraught with the misery of tragedy. Jeremiah (12:5) thought on the bewilderment of life and questioned, “If you find it hard to run with the footmen, how will you fare with the horses? If you are out of breath when frolicking in the shallow waters of a summer brook, how will you fare when the Jordan overflows its banks?” Ezekiel, the prophet in captivity, with the tenderness of heart that attends great tragedy, told of preaching in the morning to his fellow captives, down by the river and in the evening, back in Jerusalem, his wife died. The champion of biblical tragedy was Job. He was rich, healthy and happy until tragedy took it all. But in the end he declared, “Adonai gives and Adonai takes away; blessed be the Name of our Adonai.” In the New Testament, Paul wrote of his own tragedies (2 Corinthians 11:23-28): “imprisonments, countless floggings, five times the 39 lashes, three times beaten with rods, stoned once, shipwrecked three times, in danger of thieves, in danger of his own people, of the Gentiles, of rivers, in toil and hardship through many sleepless nights, hungry, thirsty, cold and naked; and always under the daily pressure of concern for the churches.” There it is: life! And what of us in today’s life? Sooner or later, more or less, in some way, we all taste some flavour of tragedy. Some great sacrifice, even as with HaMashiach, will be required of us. There will be a lonely road, a steep mountain, a dream unfulfilled, a dreaded hurt come to reality: these are part and parcel of the human experience. The question is: When they come, how do we respond?

2.) One response to tragedy is to turn away from faith. This is the path of those for whom faith is of the fair weather variety. As long as the sun shines in their lives, these are quite content to love YAHVEH and to serve faithfully. But as soon as the clouds gather and the heavy rain falls, these give up quickly. Yeshua spoke of two men, perhaps neighbours and friends, whose lives came up against the severe storm. For one of the men, everything came crashing in: house, life, family, future; for he had built upon sand and the foundation simply wasn’t secure enough to see him through the storm. The other man went through the same violent winds and rain. But he came through it, perhaps even stronger, because he built upon the rock. The option is always there, the way of faith or the way of no faith. Some will choose the harder way. What about us in the face of the storm? Will we turn away from the faith that has so nurtured us and guided us? On one occasion (John 6:68), the crowds followed Yeshua to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. He fed them once; perhaps He would feed them again. Instead, He took the opportunity to tell them about the cross and how if they would be His followers, they would each die to themselves and take up their own crosses. Suddenly the crowd that had numbered into the thousands began to dwindle. A hundred walked away here, fifty there, another ten here; until finally Yeshua was left alone with the Twelve. To them He asked, “Will you go away too? ” There’s the option. And Simon Peter responded rightly, “To whom shall we go; only You have the words of life.”

3.) Another response is to hold on to faith. We live in an uncertain world. YAHVEH’s people always have. Think of the account out of Daniel of the three
Hebrew’s who refused to compromise faith and declared to Nebuchadnezzar the king, “Throw us into the burning fiery furnace if you will. We’ll not bow down to you. Our Elohim will deliver us. But even if YAHVEH doesn’t deliver us, we’ll still not bow down to you.” It’s a marvellous example of faith maintained under the most severe of circumstances. And, in the end, YAHVEH delivered them. But there’s another story to be told. This one comes from 2 Maccabeus, one of the apocryphal books written as the history of the times between our Old and New Testaments. During the dreadful days of Antiochus Epiphanies, seven Hebrew children and their mother were tortured. Refusing to compromise their faith, each of the seven sons were killed one at a time, limbs being torn from limbs and in the sight of their mother. In the end, she too died. In Daniel, three Hebrew’s are faithful and are spared. Here, seven sons and their mother are faithful, but there is no divine intervention on their behalf. They held on to faith even unto death.

4.) This calls for a distinctly Christian approach to life. We do not choose tragedy, but we can learn and live a healthy attitude toward tragedy when it comes. Look again at the text: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with YAHVEH through our Maran Rabbeinu, our Adonai Yeshua HaMashiach, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of YAHVEH. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because YAHVEH has poured out his love into our hearts by Ruach HaKodesh, whom He has given us” (Romans 5:1-5). We are justified through faith, made right with YAHVEH. There is peace, there is grace, there is perseverance, there is character, there is hope and there is love. Here we have it, a distinctly Christian approach to life. And it’s the Christian way of life that makes all the difference. We face an uphill battle, odds greater than minds can imagine, but through it all the hand of gracious provision extended.

Love in Yeshua
Be blessed and stay blessed!
Have a joyful day and remember to thank Yahweh יהוה for it!