It was February 24th, the somber evening of an infamous day. Newsreels about the attacks on Ukraine played steadily across the television screen. Another senseless tragedy. Another thing heaped onto the growing pile of things to worry about. The news and saddened faces captured the attention of my 4 year old son. His questions about why we weren’t watching Ninjago were quickly replaced with questions about violence and war. What are missiles? What is war? Why are there wars? Why are some sides the ‘bad guys’ and some the ‘good guys’?
We handled his questions gently, explaining that there are leaders with good intentions and leaders with bad intentions. That the selfish, sinful side of human nature leads us to want more than we need, and that for some, this greedy desire for more grows until it swallows up entire countries, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. I encouraged him to pray for the people in Ukraine, and sent him off to put on pajamas.
The next morning, as he showed me the castle he’d built out of legos, he told me something that struck a chord.
“A king lives in this castle,” he said after I had properly praised his craftsmanship.
“Oh, I see!”
“But it’s a good king, not a bad one. Some kings are bad, but the one who lives in this castle is a good king.”
A good king lives there.
A good king does live. Not an earthly king, for even the kindest, smartest, and bravest rulers throughout the world’s history were imperfect people. No president can shield us from pain and sadness. No political party holds the recipe for everlasting peace. No earthly king can lead us safely through life’s tragedies to glory on the other side.
But a Heavenly King Does.
It’s quite easy to forget that our Good King still reigns in the midst of wars, disaster, and tragedy. Where is He in war? Still with us. In famine? Still with us. In plague? Still with us. How do we know this? He reminds us time and time again in His Word:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” (Isaiah 43:1b-3a ESV)
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)
“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:8 ESV)
Still, despite the plentiful reminders that God will never leave us or forsake us, we doubt. Is God really there for us? If so, why doesn’t He do something? Does He hear our cries? Does He care? Why would God allow His creation to suffer? Nobody likes to suffer. Suffering and misery is the result of sin in the world. Our sinful flesh tempts us to doubt that God is for us and working things for our good in the midst of suffering.
We are tempted to forget.
We forget that God understands our suffering, and that He is no stranger to it. We forget that our King didn’t come riding down from Heaven on a chariot of fire, but was born in a stable and rode into the kingdom on a donkey. We forget that God’s victory and glory did not come to us through a dazzling military feat, but through suffering on a humble wooden cross and an empty tomb. We forget that earthly suffering is not actually the worst thing that can happen to us.
Christ, true God and true Man, suffered. He took on all of our human experiences. He was hungry, cold, tired, afraid, and in pain. He sweated drops of blood in His distress at the Garden of Gethsemane. He was stripped and beaten, mocked and humiliated, and nailed to a cross. In a final culmination, He died with the weight of all humanity’s sins on His shoulders. For a moment, the worst thing that can happen did happen to Him. He was forsaken by God on the cross where He bore God’s wrath over sin in our place. Earthly suffering ends, but the misery of being forsaken by God in hell is eternal. Thanks to Christ’s death and resurrection, we who hope in Him will never be forgotten or forsaken by God. No matter how hard the Devil and the sinful world tries to weaken us by attacking our bodies and minds, God holds us firmly.
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39 ESV)
War cannot separate us from the love and protection of our King.
Neither can the pandemic, food shortages, job loss, nuclear threats, and the myriad of all the terrifying things we face today. Though earthly life will always be filled with reasons to worry, we can at least rest securely in knowing that our eternal life is in the hands of the Good King; a King who is loving and all knowing. A Good King who is present and tangible, not always in fantastical miracles, but within the pages of the Bible, the words of forgiveness spoken at a Sunday morning church service, the bread and wine on the altar, and the water in the baptismal font. He is the Good King who works all things, even bad things, for the good of his children in ways we can’t always see. Though earthly rulers and nations will rise and fall, our Good King still lives and reigns and His Kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
For more comforting words amidst war and suffering, read all of Romans 8.