December 17, 2012

Good morning all-

Well the last couple of days has been filled with introspection and heartache.  I have thought about the parents of those children a million times.  I have thought about the women that tried to protect them a million times and I have sat, stood and laid down in prayer.  So when I woke this morning I thought what will Jesus have me say today?  And the first thought in my head as I popped my eyes open was speak of hope.

Hope is the key to faith and the two help us love.  When devastation occurs we want to be angry, blame someone and especially ask, "Why God did you take them?"  He gets it.  He watched as His Son died on a cross and so did Mary.  I'm sure she was thinking the same thing.  Couldn't there have been a better way?  We are not God and there is no way to know why this horrific event had to happen but it did and now we have to approach it with hope.

Each person grieving will respond to this incident differently.  Marriages fail when these types of situations occur because one can't get over the loss, while the other tries to live and leave a legacy for their child.  The world watched as a man gave a statement about his beautiful daughter.  He will try to leave a legacy and I'm praying for his wife as we speak.

Without hope these families won't make it.  The children of the women who died saving their students will go wild and try to find purpose where there isn't any.  We need every parent, every child and every spouse to have hope that God is near and He feels their pain.  We must ask God to surround them and to protect them and at every possible corner provide hope in the darkness.

I know what it's like to grieve.  Accidents or random acts of violence are the worst because in one moment your precious loved one is gone and there are no more chances to hug them, tell them that you love them or simply say, "I'm sorry."  That time just vanishes and your left with did I tell them enough, "I love you."  I am sure for every person that lost their life last week, they knew they were loved.  I'm sure that the caring touch of a teacher, a parent or a sibling was with them.  Bad things do happen to good people but we must look for the rainbow and today, that is hope.  When the sun rises and sets it's our marker to know that God is consistent.  He is the same today as He will be tomorrow.  He gives life and life is taken.  We are born to die.  And although we have an age in our head that's appropriate, not every angel makes it there.  So, please join with me today and pray for hope.  The season is upon us where a miracle occurred.  Let's pray for a miracle.  Let's pray for protection over our children and let's pray that people with mental illness can get help.

We don't need answers of what happened or how it happened; we need Christ.  Feeling hopeless won't help those that are weak and grieving.  Filling ourselves with the Holy Spirit and hoping for a brighter future will be the only way we can help these people.  God must be in the middle of this tragedy.  Everyone is asking, "Why."  I just want God to be there and I want people to respond to His call.  Jesus is the reason for this season and He is the only one that can help the families forgive and heal.  This week will be difficult for all of us.  I'm sure the televisions across the globe will be on the funerals of all these brave and wonderful souls.  If you find yourself fascinated and feeling a little depressed, pray for hope, pray that these families will see God and pray that the children that survived will know God.  At the end of the day, we must always look for Jesus.

1 Peter 1:13 NKJV:

     Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  (IN JESUS NAME)

Just pray this Scripture today.  I'm going to.  I think it sums up everything very nicely.

Until tomorrow...