Psalm 34:18 – The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.  (ESV)
I recently watched the movie, “Soul Surfer,” where a girl named Bethany was attacked by a shark losing her arm.  She is a professional surfer and she had just been given a sponsorship after a competition.  But shortly after that, she was out surfing when a shark comes up and take her arm off. However, she does not give up surfing, and God uses her in a miraculous way despite her tragedy.
We look at tragedy as a horrible experience, and we do not always know how to explain its purpose or why God would allow things like these to happen.  Often times, people turn their back on Him because they believe a loving God would not allow tragedy to take place.  However, what we fail to see is how God turns that tragedy around and changes to world with it.
The biggest tragedy was when God sent His one and only Son took our place on the cross and died for our sin, something we did not deserve.  Even though seeing Christ die such a tragic death, God did not leave it at that.  Instead, Jesus was brought back in victory, and is in heaven waiting for our arrival.  Because of this story, the world has been forever changed and we are the direct beneficiaries.
When it comes to our tragedy, the light does not have to go out.  Instead, when tragedy strikes, God is waiting patiently for you to come to Him.  The tragedy you see in front of you, God has every intention to turn it around and use it to change the world around you.