God is the sovereign Ruler of the entire universe, which means there’s not a single moment, event, whether tragic or full of joy and happiness, not a solitary atom, that moves or occurs without being ordained by His hand. While that can be a hard truth to digest, knowing that He rules over everything is the only comfort we have when things go wrong.
Our minds, hearts, and souls long to make sense of the world around us, especially when tragedy strikes and we lost someone close to us. Having recently lost my own mother, I can tell you this theological truth has been something that has helped me tremendously. I’m not the victim of some random act of bad luck. Suffering is all part of God’s plan for our lives and He has His purposes for it.
A good example of this truth is the story of Caylee Dugger, a youth director who, early one Sunday, delivered an encouraging message on Revelation 7:9-17 to the congregation of First Baptist Church North Kansas City, Missouri’s Women Missionary Union.
It would be the last message she would ever give, as just a few hours later, a three-car pileup took her life as she was headed back to Texas from Kansas City. The young woman passed away at the scene of the accident, according to Beliefnet. Another individual in the accident was treated at the hospital for injuries.
Dugger was thirty years old and a student at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She planned to graduate with a Master of Theological Studies in Missions this spring and then pursue a Master of Divinity in International Church Planting.
Associate Pastor Mike Parrett of First Baptist Church delivered a message to the congregation following Dugger’s death and spoke of her love for Jesus and the powerful message she shared with the Women Missionary Union. Reading from Revelation 7:9-17, he noted how verse 15 says, “They are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple, and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.”
“Caylee is at the throne of the Lord. And He is there with her and she with Him, and she is worshiping Him, and He is loving her,” he stated. The church began their service with a video of Dugger performing her song “Hands.” The song includes the lines “I know You are a good God / In the hands of a good God / My suffering is never for nothing.” “As we grieve together, we [do not] grieve as those that do not have hope; we do have hope,” Parrett said. “We are ones that have hope, this hope that Caylee reminded us of, this Scripture that she taught from. We do have hope,” he said.
President of Midwestern Seminary, Jeffrey Allen, was saddened by the loss of Caylee, saying, “The entire seminary community mourns the passing of Caylee Dugger. She was a delightful young woman, devoted to seeing others come to faith in Christ. Even as we grieve, we grieve not as those without hope. Our hope is in Christ – as was Caylee’s.”
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A GoFundMe account was set up to help pay for Dugger’s funeral expenses. Let me tell you from my own experience. Funerals cost an obscene amount of money. Well over $10,000 for a very low-key affair. It’s ridiculous really. If you don’t have life insurance to help provide funds for your burial after you die, you might want to consider it.
“We have been amazingly encouraged by the messages of so many different people who were personally impacted by Caylee’s life,” her brother, Joseph Dugger, said in a post on the fund account. “It is clear that in her 30 years, Caylee made an unbelievable impact on everyone she encountered. We are sad, broken, and hurting. And yet, we have found such peace in knowing that Caylee is in the presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ – and that her incredible faith has been given sight. Even in the midst of this tremendous sorrow and grief, God has given us joy,” he continued.