July 9, 2025

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” – Psalm 46:1

Dear Riverside,

This past week, our hearts were broken by the devastating news out of Texas. A sudden flash flood swept through Camp Mystic and surrounding areas, claiming over 100 lives, many of them children. What was meant to be a summer of joy and growth became a scene of unimaginable sorrow and loss. Families are grieving. A generation of girls, counselors, and staff have been taken in a moment.

When tragedy strikes so violently, many of us ask, “Where is God?” “Why did God allow this?” “How can we believe in His goodness when innocent lives are lost?” These are not new questions, and they are not unfaithful ones either. In fact, the Book of Psalms is full of them. So we must not silence our lament or deny our frustrations. We also grieve deeply, and as Christians, we do not pretend otherwise.

We grieve, but we do so with hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Not because we can make sense of everything now, but because we know that the story of this world does not end in chaos. We also believe in the sovereign, wise, and good God, who entered into our pain, suffered with us, and died for us.

The Flood Shows the Broken World
When floods rage and destroy, we are reminded that the world is not as it should be. In Genesis 3, we read that our rebellion against God "broke" the world. Romans 8 says that “the whole creation has been groaning” under this brokenness. Natural disasters are not arbitrary—they are part of the brokenness of this fallen world. Nature, like humanity, is not in harmony with its Creator.

However, this is not how it was intended to be. Nor is it the way it will always be.

The Flood Points to a Greater Judgment
In the story of Noah, the flood serves as a picture of God's judgment against sin, yet also of His mercy in preserving life through the ark. That ark pointed toward Jesus Christ, who would bear the full "flood" of God's wrath against the unholiness of the fallen world. God poured out His holy wrath upon Christ, who took up the cross, not for His own sins, but for ours. At the Cross, Jesus was “drowned,” as it were, in the wrath of God, so that we might be lifted up in the ark of grace.

God Is Not Silent in Suffering
Jesus Himself wept at the tomb of Lazarus. He was not indifferent to loss. Neither should we be. But Jesus also promised that in Him, death would not have the final say. Because of His resurrection, we know that for those who die in Christ, even the deepest waters cannot separate them from His love (Romans 8:38–39).

And for those who remain, the call is not to understand everything, but to trust. Trust the God who entered history, who bore our griefs, and who promises to wipe away every tear.

A Word of Comfort and a Call to Compassion
In the coming weeks, we can pray for the grieving families, support ministries offering relief, and look for ways to embody the mercy of Christ in our own communities. And even when we don’t have easy answers, we can offer presence. Our tears can become prayers. Our silence can become solidarity. Our hope can become a light.

Let us recall the words of Psalm 46.
“God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (vv. 1-3, 7)

In His Grace Alone,
Pastor Brian Lee