The Biggest Miscommunication

There are many tragedies surrounding the West Virginia Coal Miner's horrific accident. From the accident itself to the miscommunication that followed, the entire scene was one of loss and grief. One particular part of the entire event troubles me more than others and I guarantee you will not hear about it on the news tonight. The close knit community, upon hearing of the accident, gathered together in the local Baptist church for prayer support and community. Local clergy were there to assist with grief counseling as well as to pray about the situation themselves. After the first news came out that 11 had survived and only one had died the church was filled with cheers singing and dancing. In the heat of the moment a few of the clergy ran onto the steps of the church and began to shake their hands in the air yelling out that God had delivered these men from the mines, God had saved them. Sadly as we all know the story did not end there, three hours later the 11 who were once thought as survivors were now 11 confirmed dead. The tragedy in my mind was all about miscommunication, both not the miscommunication from the rescue team to the media, the greater blotched message came from the clergy upon hearing of the survival of the men. What was their theology now that God had not saved those men? Why can we thank God for the things that we feel are good but not know what to do with him when we feel things are bad. Our theology must be consistent either God is in control or God is not. This back and forth theology makes God into a trite and trivial deity of randomness, not the caring and loving God who is the father of Jesus. What a massive communication breakdown.