Tragedy

Delta Maddogs--40th Gander Reunion

When I walked into the American Legion on December 11, 2025, I was entering a gathering of those connected to the fatal crash of Arrow Airlines on December 12, 1985, that killed 256 people in Gander, Newfoundland. We had assembled in Kentucky for the 40th anniversary of that horrific tragedy. But my first thought was that I was in the wrong place. The people looked too old and mostly unfamiliar as I initially scanned the faces. But then, as my eyes adjusted to the bright light so dissimilar from the dark parking lot, I recognized soldiers from my company and my West Point classmate, Mark Armstrong. I was in the right place, yet wow, how much forty years has changed our appearance and bearing. ​

​Meditation
Proverbs 12:21--No disaster overcomes the righteous, but the wicked are full of misery.
Jeremiah 17:17--Don’t become a terror to me. You are my refuge in the day of disaster.
 
I appreciate the translation of Proverbs 12:21 in the HCSB. Most versions state or imply that the righteous escape disaster, but we know that is not so. On the day of catastrophe, those who love God are often included, with little or no distinction from those who ignore or deny Him. But after spending three days with former members of our 3-502nd Task Force from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), I saw something rather startling that I could not ignore. Those who were followers of Jesus looked younger, seemed more vibrant, and possessed a joy that conquered trauma. As best I could tell, those who seemed not to have a relationship with God seemed weathered, beaten down, and still burdened by unspoken and spoken pains.
            
I realize there are undoubtedly exceptions to my observation, and I certainly am not implying that those who seemed miserable were wicked. Yet the more I interacted with people from my company and others, the more my impression grew. There is resiliency and strength that is unmistakable in those who walk with God. There is hope for the future. There is the ability not to let disaster ruin one’s life. There was no feasting on bitterness or professional pity mongering. 
            
The same God who provides redemption for sin is our refuge when bad things happen. Whether disaster is death (deprivation), disease, dispossession, or divorce, we should never be defined by what is lost but rather by our hope for what God is able to do now and in the future. “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Oswald Chambers noted in Run Today’s Race, “There are disasters to be faced by the one who is in real fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. God has never promised to keep us immune from trouble; He says ‘I will be with him in trouble,’ which is a very different thing.”
            
Inspiration
“Tragedy is a tool for the living to gain wisdom, not a guide by which to live.”—Robert Kennedy
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©2026 Daniel York  ARR.  Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  To receive these devotionals, go to www.firstcause.org and click the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed, subject to the inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)