1 Samuel 31:7
“And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were on the other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.”
Tragedy is sure to hit everyone at some point in their life. Churches will face tragedy, and what they do in the that time of tragedy will certainly dictate what that church becomes. When an organization experiences tragedy, their immediate actions will determine their future. When a person faces tragedy, they will either increase their usefulness or they will increase the negative impact of the tragedy.
Israel had not faced a tragedy like Saul being killed in a long time. The people who were alive had never seen such national tragedy. What is sad is that they made some unwise decisions during their time of tragedy that led to the heathen taking their land. Their unwise decisions during the tragedy could have been averted; instead, they caused more problems by making the wrong decisions when tragedy hit. There are three things you can learn from Israel about how to act when tragedy hits.
When tragedy hits, don’t make any rash decisions. You will notice when they saw that Saul and his sons were dead, they immediately forsook their cities. There was no reason for this. They let tragedy shake their decision maker. They should have held off on any decisions until the impact of the tragedy was over.
Whenever tragedy hits, you must be very careful about making any major decisions. Your decision maker is broken in times of tragedy. Don’t make a rash decision during this time because you will most likely let your emotions influence your decision.
When tragedy hits, don’t change what you have been doing. The children of Israel quit fighting when they should have continued. Just because tragedy hit did not mean they needed to stop the battle against the Philistines. The one stability you have in times of tragedy is your routines and beliefs. Just because tragedy hits does not mean these need to be changed. Don’t change your beliefs in times of tragedy. If what you believed was right in times of ease, then it is still right in times of tragedy. Keep working the same ministries and don’t stop in times of tragedy. Doing what you’ve always done will be a medicine to help cure the hurt you feel because of the tragedy.
Furthermore, when tragedy hits, keep your eyes on God. The mistake the children of Israel made was having their eyes on Saul and his sons when they should have kept their eyes on God. God did not die in the battle. God was still alive. Friend, tragedy may take someone or something from you, but God is still alive and He is still there for you when you face tragedy. God will be the One constant on Whom you can depend in tragedy. Keep your eyes on Him!
Your response during tragedy will determine your future. Don’t make your tragedy worse by doing the same things Israel did. Let their poor reactions be a lesson on how not to react in tragedy. If you will take these three lessons and apply them during times of tragedy, then your tragedy will become a time of growth and strength.