Sadness, Questions and Hope: A Response to the Tragedy of Sandy Hook

Photo Credit: Associated Press 

The Pain of Tragedy

Sitting around the TV watching the news yesterday was a painful experience. We felt the fear, the panic, the immense sadness of tragedy. Children died. Men and women died. This brought tears and sadness and questions.

We Ask Why

No one person, or government, or doctor, has all the answers to why someone would walk into a school and kill 26 people, most of whom where children between the ages of 5 and 10.

The pain and torment the shooter must have been in to perpetrate such a horribly evil act must have been unbearable. The pain mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters are feeling right now as the reality sets in their child or sibling is dead will seem suffocating. The community of Newtown, Connecticut, will never be the same. As a nation, our response will be because of the pain and shock we feel right now. We will cry, we will mourn, we will call out for more gun control, we will focus on anything but the real problem: we live in a broken world.

We live here on this earth for a short time. Then we die. The loss of children though, is our worst nightmare, because in them we see the innocence we have lost and hope for a future. When they are cut off we feel our own fragility more acutely.  

I do not have the answers to the why's being asked right now, but I have some hope.

God is Just

I have hope that there is a God who loves justice and hates evil. I have a hope that God can take any circumstance and bring it about for good.

I am not saying that the deaths of these children was orchestrated by God. God does not bring death, but life. This world, (who God gave us, mankind, dominion over) is broken. We have not done well by His creation, including how we deal with each other.

But God is a redeemer. He can take these heartaches and remind us of His faithfulness and goodness. For when we stare into the face of evil, as this act of murder and rampage was evil, we can turn to God and see His goodness never fades, or changes, He is faithful no matter what.

He made a way for us, through Christ, to have peace, hope and rest even in the most horrible of circumstances.

My Prayer

Father I ask for peace for these families, rest for their hearts, and hope to soon be restored in their brokenness. Father, I ask for wisdom as a nation, on how to move forward, and I stand on your promise that you can take anything and everything and turn it around for good for those that love you and are called according to your purpose. Lord, forgive us as a nation for turning from you, and let this tragedy serve as a reminder not of the man who perpetrated the sin, but of a God who loves us and who comforts us in our times of trouble. You who are the lifter of our heads, the lover of our souls, and the healer of our hearts. Father bless this nation as it mourns this tragedy and restore peace to the hearts and minds of the families who lost loved ones yesterday at the hand of a mad man. Let us not lose sight of how good and faithful you are, and help us remember the words of Job: "Though he slay me, I will trust him." You are sovereign and I will trust you. As we move forward let us understand that the time is drawing short, and the fields are ripe with the harvest. Help us to remember that everyone should hear of your great love and mercy and let this tragedy be turned to our good and Your glory. In the name of Jesus, who died to give us victory over death this very day, Amen.

A Call to Action

Words have power, but sometimes action is called for. Can you join me in donating to the families of this horrible tragedy? Here is a tilt campaign that is raising money for the families. The families will get nearly 98% of all money raised (the website keeps a small fee for processing the credit cards). 

Here is the link: https://www.crowdtilt.com/campaigns/sandy-hook-elementary-school-fund 

Join the Conversation

How did you discuss this tragedy with your family? 

The Power of Words

Photo Credit: Dayna Bickham CC License 

In the beginning...God said...and there was....

Words.

They have the ability to create and the ability to destroy. They are powerful. This is one way we are like God: our words form our world.

Words also have the amazing ability to linger. They can linger like a sweet perfume if they are positive, or linger like an offensive flatulence.

"You're not good enough." 

"You'll never make it." 

"You won't amount to much." 

"You're not special." 

Words grip our heart, and if we take them in, and do not call them what they are then we open ourselves up to the destruction they bring.

These kinds of words destroy our identity, they destroy our confidence, they kill our hope. They rob us of our future.

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy..." John 10:10a

Words like these are the darts of our enemy: fiery and sharp, they are meant to wound, maim; even to kill.

How do we counteract these words? How do we avoid the darts and the farts?

1. We say what God says about us.
2. We pray for our eyes to see what God sees.
3. We actively build our faith. (Faith as a shield: it can withstand any dart)

Do you know the second part of the verse from above?

"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10b

Through Jesus you can have life. You can have joy. There is no reason to live under the weight of those destructive words anymore!

So now, I want to challenge you. Women, take a pen. Write it down. You are who God says you are.  Now begin to say this anytime you "hear" those words that have hurt you, that the enemy uses to destroy you.

"I am the righteousness of God in Christ. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am designed and unique. i am chosen. I have a purpose. I am full of life. Living waters flow out of my belly. I am beautiful. I am a child of the King!" 

I wrote mine down: on my body. It will wash off in a few hours. But I am reclaiming some the territory that Satan has claimed as his, and I am not letting him win any longer.

I am also praying this prayer, won't you join me?

Father, let my words and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You. Let me see myself as You see me, and forgive me for beating up on Your child, and letting the enemy do the same. I will take Your side from now on. I will say what You say. I will chose to believe what You say concerning me. When I struggle, when I fail, bring me back in line with You once again. Give me a soft heart and a firm faith. In the name of Jesus! Amen. 

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Join the Conversation:

What words did you write down? Leave at least one of the words in the comments below.