Reblogged from "A Miniature Claypot"
So you STILL think God is a merciful God?!
(Maybe, just maybe God spared my life because He loves YOU
and wants you to hear this..He wants you to believe that He loved you so
much He gave His only begotten Son that if you would believe in Him you
would have eternal life.)
“
So, you still believe in a merciful God?” Some of the
comments online are genuinely inquisitive, others are contemptuous in
nature. Regardless of the motive behind the question, I will respond the
same way.
Yes.
Yes, I do indeed.
Absolutely, positively, unequivocally.
Let’s get something straight: the theater shooting was an evil,
horrendous act done by a man controlled by evil. God did not take a gun
and pull the trigger in a crowded theater. He didn’t even suggest it. A
man did.
In His sovereignty, God made man in His image with the ability to choose good and evil.
Unfortunately, sometimes man chooses evil.
I was there in theater 9 at midnight, straining to make out the words and trying to figure out the story line as
The Dark Night Rises
began. I’m not a big movie-goer. The HH and I prefer to watch movies in
the comfort of our own home…where I can use subtitles and get a foot
rub. I don’t like action movies. And I don’t like midnight showings.
But, as I wrote in my last post, parents sometimes make sacrifices for
their kiddos and I decided I would take my fourteen year old and sixteen
year old daughters who were chomping at the bit to see this eagerly
anticipated third movie in the Batman Trilogy. Twice I had the
opportunity to back out and twice I was quite tempted. But something in
me said
just go with your girls. I did.
So I was there with them, fidgeting in my seat, some forty or fifty
feet away from the man with the gun. It’s still a bit surreal, but I do
know that when the seemingly endless shooting started, as my girls were
struggling from whatever gas or chemical had been released, and we
figured out what was happening, we hit the floor. I threw myself on top
of my fourteen year old who was on the end of the row, straight up the
aisle from the shooter. In that moment, as the rapid-fire shots
continued, I truly thought I was going to die. And I realized that I was
ready. I have put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the redeemer of
my soul, and there wasn’t the slightest doubt that I would be received
into heaven, not because of any good thing that I have done but because
of His merciful nature and the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus
Christ. Still, as I lay over my daughter, I began praying out loud. I
don’t even remember what I prayed, but I don’t imagine it really
matters. I’m sure it was for protection and peace. It drew me closer
into the presence of God. When there was a pause in the shooting, people
began to clamor for the exits. The girls and I jumped up and joined the
masses. We had to step over a lifeless body, not knowing where the
shooter was. We raced to our car and I dumped my purse, frantically
searching for keys, looking all around, prepared to hit the ground. I
yelled at Michelle to call Matthew and find out if he had made it out of
the theater next door. She did. He did. We booked on out of there.
Why would you think such a tragedy would make me question the
goodness of God? If anything, both of my girls said it made Him a much
more real presence to them; the youngest shared this verse:
Do not
be afraid of sudden fear nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it
comes; for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your feet from
being caught.
He is not the
cause of evil, but He is the one who can bring
comfort and peace in the midst of evil. It’s been amazing to see the
outpouring of love from so many people after this unthinkable act. Yes,
there was one evil act, but it is being covered by thousands, possibly
millions of acts of kindness.
We have not yet slept, so the girls and I are overtired and a bit
emotional. But overall, we are praising God and resting in His
Goodness. I love this word of wisdom and encouragement from a former
pastor of mine:
Up to this point I haven’t had words to say that would matter. Of
course we are all glad that you and the family are safe. Of course we
would all state the obvious that this is horrific and senseless. But
those words still don’t carry weight that remain in the midst of the
questions. Then it hit me… Do you know what the difference was between
Job and his wife in their response to the tragedy of losing everything…
Job 1:20 Job was the only one that worshiped in the midst of it. Marie, I
know your heart and I’ve seen your worship lived out before your
family. Before the weight of this becomes unbearable… worship. Your
profile pic was not coincidence, not by accident that you changed it on
July 15th, but a beautiful foreshadowing of your need to hear the cry of
your heart and give Him praise.
Though we don’t have all the answers, we do indeed listen to the cry of our hearts:
When
I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man
do to me? Psalm 56:3-4
God is always good.
Man is not.
Don’t get the two confused.
We will continue to praise and worship our mighty God, anticipating that He will bring beauty from ashes, as only He can do.
If you want to know how to pray for us: first and foremost, we need
sleep. Somehow our bodies seem too wired. We also want the life that God
has graciously allowed us to continue to live to not be a gift given in
vain, we want our lives to draw others closer to Him. We do not want
fear to dominate, for God has not given us a spirit of fear. We want His
joy to be seen and experienced in all that we do.
Pray for the families who lost loved ones, and for young people who
witnessed such horror. Pray for this to be an opportunity for God to
manifest Himself in mighty ways.
As for you…we will pray that YOU might know His goodness.
Still grateful for this wonderful life,
Marie
