“Accidents Happen!”

June 4, 2026

“Accidents Happen!”

I was doing what I had done hundreds of times before; i.e., I was opening the door to our freezer to retrieve a package of hamburger. Before I touched anything inside the freezer, I heard something move.

The next thing I knew a frozen container of spaghetti sauce fell from the upper shelf of the freezer all the way to the floor. Well, the container did not quite fall to the floor. No, it hit my big toe.

The accident and the pain it caused was enough to make a preacher cuss. But, I did not. Usually, I utter some moan or groan. But, those sounds would not pass through my lips either.

Maybe it was because I was so surprised. Maybe it was because the pain had not yet passed from my toe to my brain. Maybe it was because “accidents happen.” I just stood there looking at the container of spaghetti sauce and my toe and the open freezer door wondering what had just happened.

Sometimes accidents just happen. We can be careful, we can plan ahead, and we can avoid unnecessary risk. And yet, an accident still happens. Sometimes an accident happens because of a choice I have made. Sometimes an accident happens because of a choice another person has made. And, sometimes accidents just happen.

Job looses his house, his ranch, his livestock, and all of his children in one day. It is not an accident that causes all of the loss and heart-ache and pain, but the experience invites Job to reflect upon the meaning of life when unexpected and painful things happen.

In Job 14:1 we hear; “A mortal, born of woman, few of days and full of trouble…” Job says that suffering is part of life; our days are filled with trouble. Jesus also acknowledges that in this life there is pain and suffering as well as persecution and loss. In John 16:33 Jesus says; “I have said this to you so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution, but take courage: I have conquered the world!”

There will be difficult seasons, there will be experiences that are not fair, and there will be accidents that cause us to wonder if the Lord still hears our prayers and cares about our pain. Jesus says; “In the world you face persecution…”

The good news is Jesus offers a word of encouragement. Jesus tells us to take courage when accidents happen, when life is not fair, or the pain will not stop. Jesus says we can have courage in the midst of awful things because He has “…conquered the world!” Because Jesus lived, died, and lived again, we know Jesus can conquer the pain of any mishap, any mistake, and any accident.

In Psalm 34:19 we hear a similar promise; “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all.” Jesus will rescue us from the pain and suffering of any affliction, any abuse, any betrayal, and any accident.

In Psalm 46:1-3 we hear; “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.” We will not fear because the Holy Spirit will give us courage to face whatever is breaking our heart or destroying our joy or causing our pain.

The good news is Jesus is our refuge and our strength in the midst of trouble, even the kind of trouble that follows a frozen container of spaghetti sauce falling on your big toe. The Psalmist tells us there is nothing that is greater than the strength the Lord God is giving to us.

Accidents happen. Suffering sometimes lasts too long. Pain is often so intense it steals away our peace and our joy and even our love. The good news is Jesus can restore us and heal us because in the empty tomb from which He rose from death to life, Jesus conquered suffering and sin and darkness and death.

When we come through the other side of the accident or the pain or the suffering, Jesus calls us to comfort other people who are hurting and need healing and help. In II Corinthians 1:3-4 the Apostle Paul writes; “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God.”

The Lord will console and comfort us when we are afflicted and hurting so we can console and comfort another person who is afflicted or hurting or reeling from the effects of an accident.

There are some things I have gone through I pray I never have to go through again. False accusations, betrayal, sin that separated me from another person, and poor choices that took me on a path away from the Lord were almost unbearable. Only by the grace of our Heavenly Father, the tender mercy of Jesus, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit was I able to come through those experiences.

At the same time, I would not want to erase the memory of those experiences. Because of the deep pain I experienced in each of those seasons, the Holy Spirit is able to use me to bring comfort and consolation as well as hope and help to other people who are in the midst of a season of suffering.

Who is Jesus calling you to comfort or encourage or help today? It might be a co-worker, a member of your small group, a family member, a friend, a team member, a neighbor, a class-mate, a person from church, a business colleague, etc. With whom can you share the comfort with which you have been comforted by Jesus?

When the Holy Spirit uses one person who has been comforted by Jesus to comfort another person who is suffering, there is a release of gratitude to the Lord God as well as delight for the Lord that fills our heart.  

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug