Harold and Cathy and their two sons were in a wooded area in Minnesota when a tornado touched down. Cathy described her experience to me several years later:

“My husband and older son were some distance away, but my younger son and I took cover in a cabin. We heard a sound like a hundred railroad cars and instinctively dropped to the floor in a tucked position. The cabin began to break apart, and I shut my eyes because of all the flying debris. It felt like I was going up in an elevator and then was shot into the air. I landed in a lake and clung to debris to stay afloat.”

Tragically, however, their younger son did not survive. Harold said of their loss: “We cried every day for 6 weeks. But we believe that God’s loving sovereignty allowed that tornado to come down where we were. And we also took comfort in the fact that our son knew the Lord.”

When a loved one is taken and we are left behind, it can create all kinds of questions. In times like these, Romans 8:28 can be of great encouragement: “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” This couple’s trust in God’s loving sovereignty brought them comfort in the midst of their grief (2 Cor. 1:3-4).

When we sustain a heartbreaking loss,
When grief overwhelms our soul,
The Savior who gave Himself on the cross
Reminds us that He’s in control. —D. De Haan

Our greatest comfort in sorrow is to know that God is in control.