I am shaken. I am heart broken. BUT I am safe and unharmed. As I have been reading these stories about the devastation in Puerto Rico, Houston, Florida and now Vegas, I can’t control the weeping and feelings of grief that flood my heart and thoughts. And all I can do is sit in the presence of Jesus and ask WHY!?
In no way do I doubt that God is good. No way do I doubt that God is working and rescuing these people. But if you are like me and acknowledge that I am human and acknowledge that the first thing we do is ask questions such as:
- Why were there forest fires in Montana, California and Oregon while Houston and Florida were underwater?
- Why was there another natural disaster in India, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, leaving people in an even worse state than before?
- Why did 59 people have to die and 500+ people injured in a mass shooting in Las Vegas 2 nights ago?
Next is another overwhelming rush of follow up questions. Those such as:
- Why am I so blessed to be safe and out of harms way?
- What am I supposed to do in these situations? (not a why but accurate)
- What is the big picture that you’re drawing God?
- Why is it that in the midst of tragedies, is when people start mentioning Jesus’s name!?
- Why is it so easy for us to partner with the enemy and forget Jesus and go back to pointing blame and hatred at other people!?
As I sit here trying to gather my thoughts, the only thing that I can think to say is that, it’s time for us to stop waiting for tragedies to strike, to point people to Jesus.
I think this stirs my heart a lot because it can be so easy for me to go DAYS without showing others the love Jesus offers them. Everyday, good or bad I need to say, “God I need you today, I need you to give me someone to love on, someone to speak your truth too, someone to point to you.” That’s our ONE job on this earth…
John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Live with purpose. Love with purpose.
So this morning as I was spending time with Jesus, I felt him say “Ask me these questions? I want to guide you through this.” So I did. I asked him, but not just for myself, I asked him “As your body, the body of Christ, how do we convey this message? How do we live this out?” And this last question convicted me, it was hard to let come out of my mouth, but it did. “How do we love the Stephen Paddocks and even the other terrorist groups?
Mathew 13:9 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
He spoke, and I heard.
He said, “Rally in prayer daily. Don’t give up.” He lead me to Acts 4:27-31 for wisdom on what exactly that sorta vague statement meant.
Acts 4: 27-31 “for truly in this city they were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, who you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant your servants to continue to speak your word with boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And when they prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
I was struck with the reality that these tragedies are meant to raid fear in our hearts. But as followers of Jesus, we have to remember fear was defeated the moment Jesus ROBBED the grave. We don’t walk in fear with Jesus. God has already won. The story is already written.
So now, we pray boldly, fervently and steadfast(ly). We pray for the city we live in, the people who are broken and hurt around us. We pray for our authorities. We pray for our country, the wounded and the lost. We pray for our enemies, and for our world. We pray for the unreached, prideful, and hardened hearts. We boldly cry out to the Holy Spirit to overcome the places in which we are battling in prayer for.
We SHAKE this earth with prayer in Jesus’s name.
(AND I am no way thinking I am God and have all the answers. But I do know for MYSELF, this is a huge wake up call to how I am living, how I am loving others and what motivates me throughout the day.)
Right now, my heart is being stripped and prepared for the race to come. Today was a huge lesson in God’s classroom. A repetitive question for me is always, “what can I do?” On the World Race, I without a doubt will be faced with experiences that will lead to this thought process.
BUT today I was reminded that I am NOT the savior. I am NOT the one who will save these people. That’s NOT my job. That is JESUS. My job on this race and earth is to love, pray and point, and Jesus WILL do the rest and for that I praise God!
SOOO
As God continues to prepare my heart, please pray that my heart will be tended in a way that I will never doubt God’s goodness on the race. Pray that no matter the oppression, depression or evil I experience I will pray fervently and boldly for those people around me. Pray that I point to Jesus in everything I do, on good days and bad days. Pray that I never forget Jesus.
Romans 14:7-9 “For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”
My life isn’t for me. It’s for Jesus and for that I am blessed.
Thank you Jesus, I love you too!
-Katie B
