When we saw the gray smoke escaping like a thief from the church windows, we weren’t thinking about the building. We were thinking about the people we love who worship there each Sunday and who have blessed our lives throughout the week.

No one was injured in the fire that heavily damaged the Covenant Orthodox Presbyterian Church building in Wilkinsburg, Pa., on Feb. 24. But a lot of hearts were heavy as they watched their newly remodeled building being devastated by smoke, fire, and by the water needed to save what was left. They are like any other church of God’s precious people, in that they already had many heavy burdens in their lives; so this was a difficult additional blow. Incredibly, another OP Church in that presbytery was to lose a building by fire just days later.

From the moment we arrived on the scene in Wilkinsburg, though, we saw the light of God’s promises reflected in members’ eyes—an assurance that He was in control and would work all things together for good in His own providential way.

Understanding how that could be so, at that moment, was as difficult to grasp as the smoke that rolled skyward. But God often, over time, gives us glimpses on His good purposes in tragedy. That is true here. According to those I’ve talked to in the church, the fire has galvanized their understanding of God’s purpose for their continuing to have a testimony in that location. It has also strengthened their ties with local churches, including the Reformed community.

For my own congregation, it was a wakeup call about not taking for granted our close brothers and sisters. While there had been decades-long cooperation and fellowship between our congregations, it had waned in recent years. Perhaps—and this is just my opinion—we had become so focused on our own work that we had neglected the critical need to fight the powers of darkness together. Thankfully, closer fellowship and cooperation have already begun.

Reading the Fishers’ article in this issue of the Witness brought to mind some of those same lessons. God’s redeeming purpose in tragedy often boggles our minds, and often, in time, brings joy to our faces. All of the smoke, after all, will one day roll away for good.