When faced with incomprehensible tragedy an encouraging concept to keep at the forefront of your mind is eucatastrophe. This was a term coined by J. R. R. Tolkien in his essay “On Fairy Stories.” He describes it as “the good catastrophe . . . a sudden and miraculous grace: never to be counted on to recur.” One need look no further than in The Lord of the Rings when Frodo fails his quest, is attacked by Gollum, and Gollum finally recovers “the precious” only to tumble off the precipice and thereby unwittingly defeat Sauron.

The eucatastrophe of the cosmos is the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. In that moment when all hope is lost, when the forces of evil triumph, “a sudden and miraculous grace, never to be counted on to recur,” occurs and the very instrument of His death becomes the very instrument by which Christ redeems creation “as far as the curse if found.”

This is what we have witnessed over the past week in the death of Charlie Kirk. Wicked men plotted to silence Charlie’s testimony. They sought to silence the Gospel he proclaimed. Their great act of evil to kill a Christian man only made him a martyr and brought even more attention to the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. The algorithm was flooded with Charlie’s debates, podcasts, and sermons. Many who would have never listened to him tuned in and watched hours of him countering the culture’s lies and clearly presenting the gospel. Numerous individuals went and highlighted his testimony, proclaimed the gospel, read scripture on television and various forms of media. Vice President J. D. Vance even recited the Nicene Creed as he stood in for Charlie as a guest host on his show the Monday after his death.

Rejoice and be encouraged fellow Christian because what wicked men meant for evil God meant for good, because we can cast our cares upon Him and He will exalt us at the proper time, and because God works all things for our good.

Genesis 50:20

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

1 Peter 5:6-7

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

Romans 8:28

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”