Tragedy, though almost always unexpected, is inevitable.
Surprise
Because we live in a fallen creation brought forth as a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience (Genesis 3:17), sin, sickness, cancer, accidents, violence, disaster, and death are all part of the tragic curse that plagues the world in which we live. The effects of sin, sickness, and various kinds of tragedies often catch us off guard and surprise us. But the last sentence that you just read does not apply to God. God is never caught off guard or surprised.
Sympathy
It’s not because God does not sympathize—He does! Jesus is able to truly sympathize with us because He did not merely observe our tragedy, He entered into it. The Man of Sorrows bore the full weight of sin’s curse on His own shoulders (Isaiah 53:3–4; Galatians 3:13). He not only wept at gravesides (John 11:35); He went to the cross to conquer the very death that makes us weep. Because He is both God and man, His compassion is not distant sentiment—it is nail-scarred, blood-bought mercy for suffering saints. That is why Psalm 34:18 can declare, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
This means that when we suffer tragedy, we must not only speak about the LORD, but also speak to the Lord as though He were right there with us—because He is—He is near to those who are brokenhearted and crushed in spirit.
This is what David did in the day of trouble. In the dark valley of Psalm 23, David first spoke about Jesus, saying “The Lord is my shepherd.” But then, as David walks through the valley of the shadow of death, He speaks to Jesus in that moment and in that place, saying “You are with me.” He not only spoke about the Lord as being his shepherd, but to the Lord because He was with David.
So it is with us. The Lord is with us in the deepest and darkest of valleys because He knows we cannot go through it alone. He is with us every step of the painful way.
Sovereign
The reason why God is never surprised and caught off guard is because He is sovereign. He is in charge of the tragedy.
In other words, if life is an ocean, we must not only think of God as one who merely acts as a captain able to steer our vessel through the peril of the rage-filled seas but we must also think of Him as in charge of the storm itself.
The good news, of course, is that the storm is always in perfect obedience to the Master of the wind and waves. So when Jesus calls out to the wind and waves, “be still!” there is suddenly a great calm (Luke 8:24). Storms are initiated and halted by the sovereign Lord. They obey all of His commands.
Every activity, every one of our days and how they would be spent are written from before in His book (Psalm 139:15-18). That means both the good and tragic days have been written by the stroke of His divine pen. Nothing makes its way in His book without His authoring, and the great mystery of it all is how the book ends—always for our good and always for His glory (Romans 8:28).
This does not mean that sin is caused by God —God never authors sin. Evil flows from our own corrupt hearts, and we are fully responsible for it (James 1:13–15). Yet even our sinful choices cannot escape the bounds of His eternal decree. Every choice we freely make, shaped by our own desires, unfolds under His sovereign, wise will. The same sovereign hand that governs the rise and fall of kingdoms (Daniel 4:35) also numbers every hair on our heads (Matthew 10:30).
And yet, how often tragedy exposes our unbelief. Our hearts murmur against His plan, despair replaces trust, and we quietly accuse God of failing us. We have not trusted Him as we should. But where we falter, Christ perfectly trusted His Father, even in death, and now covers our trembling faith with His own obedience.
This truth humbles proud hearts and silences every excuse we might raise. But it also comforts wounded souls: nothing enters the life of a believer apart from the wise and loving will of our heavenly Father.
Because God is sovereign even in tragedy, we do not suffer without hope. Even in the worst of days, our hope is in God who ordained it, and promises to sustain us. Those who have put their faith in Jesus can say with David, “No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame” (Psalm 25:3). In spite of tragedy, we find meaningful hope in God’s sovereignty because He loves us and will not put us to shame.
He is always near us and sympathizes with us in our weaknesses and suffering. He is the master of the storm who takes us through the darkest of valleys and authors every penned event in His book. We can mourn with hope because after our hearts and flesh fail, we can know that every tear will be worth it all when He wipes them away and our eyes finally see the Lord in all His goodness. “So that’s how you used my pain for glory,” we will one day declare. God’s sovereignty is always greater than our tragedy.
One day, the mysteries that confound us now will give way to glory. The same hand that wrote our darkest days has already written the final chapter: resurrection life in the presence of Christ, where sorrow and sighing flee forever. Until that day, let us lay our trembling hearts upon the rock of His sovereign love, and taste even now the sweetness of His rule over every sorrow—knowing that soon, the risen Christ will wipe away every tear.