Declaring the end and the result from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done… – Isaiah 46:10, Amplified Bible (AMP)

In September 1931, Amy Carmichael, known affectionately as Amma (mother) by the Indian children she rescued from temple prostitution, was looking at a house for rent to use as a medical facility. The owner of the property had left a key for her to gain access, but he didn’t hide it where he was supposed to. After Amma finally found the key, looked around the property, and put the key back in its place, nighttime had fallen. Although she had entered the property from the front door, she exited from the rear, and as she headed for home she fell into a pit that had been dug in the back yard. She broke her leg in the fall, and she remained in the pit for five hours until she was rescued. 

The roads between the house and the hospital were treacherous and bumpy due to heavy rains, causing Amma great pain as her broken leg was jostled to and fro on the hard floor of the medical transport.  After reaching the hospital, the doctors did what they could for Amma, but her leg never healed properly. From that point forward, Amma could not walk without considerable pain, causing her to be confined mostly to her room for the remaining twenty years of her life. 

For a brief time, Amma wondered if her work for God was complete. Always busy and on the go, she did not understand how she could do the work she was accustomed to doing while confined to her bed. Over the remaining two decades of her life, however, The Lord did use Amma, and He used her to write sixteen books that, had she not been injured, she most likely would not have written. In addition, with Amma unable to heavily engage in the work of Dohnavur Fellowship herself, she had no choice but to train her helpers to do the work without her constant involvement. Thus, through her injury, God used Amma to train others to carry on the work of Dohnavur Fellowship after Amma’s death.

When tragedy strikes, we often can’t understand why until much, much later. Then, when we look at our past from a distance, we see the tragedy in context, and we understand God’s brilliance in using the tragedy for our benefit and for the benefit of others. Our challenge – and our comfort – when we are going through the tough times is to realize that even though we don’t yet see the tough times in their proper context, God does. Since He sees our entire lives from beginning to end, He already knows how all of the puzzle pieces fit together, and He already is in the process of putting the next piece of our lives in its proper place. 

When the inexplicable comes, try not to waste emotional energy thinking about the “why” behind the “what” that has happened to you. Trust your God. He holds tomorrow, and He already knows how He will use both the good times and the bad to mold you into the image of Christ. Rest assured, when it’s time for you to know the “why” behind the “what,” He’ll make it clear to you. Until then, be patient, trust God, and relax. He is in control!

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