Let me open this by stating I don’t have all the answers. I never will.
I don’t claim to know the Mind of God, nor the Heart of Man.
But I DO know what the Word tells me… And that’s what I’m going to
try to bring to you as best I’m able.
“Where was God when X happened with Y,” is a question that is ALWAYS
asked in the aftermath of a tragedy. It’s never any easier to answer,
as time goes on. It seems that, if God really IS Love, then He’d not
allow such things to happen to us, His Children.
The unfortunate reality of the situation is, while God IS Love, and He
IS Holy and Faithful, and He DOES take care of His, we live in a fallen
world.
Ever since Adam bit that apple, man has lived with sin.
Romans 6:23 tells us plainly-“For the wages of sin is death, but the
free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (New
Living Translation)
And James 1:15 tells us “These desires give birth to sinful actions.
And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”
We live in a sinful world, and since the wages of sin IS death, we are
surrounded by it all the time.
It’s easy to turn our heads at the TV and say “God didn’t save X from Y,
therefore, God is not real.” or “If God WERE real, he would have saved
X from Y.”
It doesn’t work that way, I’m afraid.
God gave man Free Will. The Freedom to choose. In the Garden, that
choice was to eat or not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and
Evil. Man made the wrong choice.
In Joshua 24:15, Joshua says to the people “But if you refuse to service
the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the
gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods
of the Amorites, in whose land you now live? As for me and my family,
we will serve the Lord.”
So God gives us each a choice. What we do with that choice is up to us.
But people keep asking me, when that madman shot his mother, drove to
Sandy Hook, and killed those 26 women and children, where was God?
Why did God let those kids die?
First off, God didn’t “Let those kids die.” the Bible says in 1 Peter
5:8 to “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls
around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” That goes
back to us living in a fallen world. Satan is real. He is called the
Destroyer for a reason. And he’s going to do whatever he can, by
whatever means he can, to make you question your faith.
Let’s flash back to April 20, 1999.
Two madmen walked into their school, hell-bent on killing everyone.
While it’s up in the air on if one of the madmen asked Cassie Bernall if
she believed in God before killing her, the fact cannot be denied she
had been, and CONTINUED to pray up until the trigger was pulled, cutting
her life short.
Where was God?
Well, when you look at the facts of what happened after that, it’s
pretty clear: The two killers had intended to blow the place up, but
instead, turned their guns on themselves and took their own life.
April 16, 2007-Blacksburg Virginia.
A gunman walks onto his college campus, killing as many people as he
can. When he entered one of the buildings, he was met with resistance
in the form of a 76 year old Holocaust survivor, holding the door of his
class shut so his students could escape.
Back to December 14, present day.
A music teacher, Maryrose Kristopik, locks her kids in the closet, and
instructs her kids to pray, as the killer tries to get in.
First grade teacher Victoria Soto, who put herself between the gunman
and her class, gave her life to protect them.
It’s the same story with school principal Dawn Hochsprung, who rushed
the gunman unarmed, doing what she could to buy her staff and her
students time.
Where was God, you ask me? I point to these people. I point to those
who prayed. I point to the police who responded, scaring the gunman
into taking his own life, in EACH case.
The Bible tells us plainly: “Greater love hath no man than this, that
he would lay down his life for a friend.” (John 15:13 KJV)
THAT is where God was, and IS. In the actions of those who rise above
the Human Nature of self-preservation, putting their all on the line,
that others may live.
In those who pray, and steadfastly believe that, whatever the outcome,
God WILL be Glorified.
Daniel 3: 16-18 “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O
Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we
are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to
save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if
he DOESN’T, Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods
or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
Even in the face of certain death, these three men held fast. It didn’t
matter to them that they would die-they would not turn on their belief.
And where was God? With them in the Furnace.
God is always there, people. We may not see Him, and we may question
Him (as Job did), but rest assured, He IS there.
In closing, I’m going to post the names of those who died. The media
focus so far has been a quick mention of the names, and then it’s all
about the killer. You’ll notice I didn’t give his name once. Nor will
I. He will find no fame on my blog. He will be a nameless waste of
carbon, nothing more than a Vessel of Evil.
As to those who died, here are their names:
– Charlotte Bacon, 2/22/06, female
– Daniel Barden, 9/25/05, male
– Rachel Davino, 7/17/83, female.
– Olivia Engel, 7/18/06, female
– Josephine Gay, 12/11/05, female
– Ana M. Marquez-Greene, 04/04/06, female
– Dylan Hockley, 3/8/06, male
– Dawn Hochsprung, 06/28/65, female
– Madeleine F. Hsu, 7/10/06, female
– Catherine V. Hubbard, 6/08/06, female
– Chase Kowalski, 10/31/05, male
– Jesse Lewis, 6/30/06, male
– James Mattioli , 3/22/06, male
– Grace McDonnell, 12/04/05, female
– Anne Marie Murphy, 07/25/60, female
– Emilie Parker, 5/12/06, female
– Jack Pinto, 5/06/06, male
– Noah Pozner, 11/20/06, male
– Caroline Previdi, 9/07/06, female
– Jessica Rekos, 5/10/06, female
– Avielle Richman, 10/17/06, female
– Lauren Rousseau, 6/1982, female
– Mary Sherlach, 2/11/56, female
– Victoria Soto, 11/04/85, female
– Benjamin Wheeler, 9/12/06, male
– Allison N. Wyatt, 7/03/06, female
May God rest each of their souls, and may we never forget them.
The Holy Book of Colt 