Today, lives are once again forever changed. In an instant the decisions of one, now will impact the lives of many. Once again we are reminded that our lives are never guaranteed a tomorrow. They are mere vapors in the light of eternity. Today, once again being a day of change, we have the choice in how we talk about what has happened, how we move forward in our own lives, or how we will place blame and resolve the situation in our own minds.
The end result in all of it is that lives were taken, not just the plus 50 people who were gunned down by an armed man locked away in the safety of his hotel room for the time being, or the 500 plus people who were injured, but reach beyond that number to see the impact of the ripples being generated world wide. Today once again America is attacked. The once "united" states will be pulled apart from both those inside and outside the country. We are talking about the extensions of the family members that will have to deal with the loss of a loved one, family member or friend. Perhaps it was someone they worked with or just some random stranger that they stood next to when the hail of bullets began to fly.
There are those lives who will be forever changed by that moment in time. The first responders who ran in while others ran as far away as they could. Moments captured by cell phones and tablets that make it difficult to watch but those ripples now reach us as well. This will be a day remembered and not a day we will want to remember. There are those who will be tragically impacted forever and it is time as believers to pray. It's time to pray because now more than ever, our country will be divided by those who will place blame on what could have been done to prevent this attack at the heart of a popular tourist destination, not 3 hours from my home. They will once again raise the issue of gun control, or tighter security measures or perhaps now guests will now have to pass screening measures when staying at a hotel. None of this solves anything but to divide us.
We are a nation divided more than ever before, race, culture, gender, religious beliefs, political affiliations, you name it, continue to divide. So where does the blame go? Not to the one that should take the heat for all of this. The one who has been dividing kingdoms since the beginning. It's not God, but Satan. He is the one who comes to kill, steal and destroy and lately it seems as if he is having a field day at not only causing chaos, but also getting people to turn away from God, shaking their fists at Him wondering why He couldn't stop this before it began. But you know what, God is big enough to deal with the blame even though He isn't directly responsible. The actions of a man's willing and sin filled heart is. You can take away every gun in the world and destroy them, but unless you get at the heart issues, people will just use whatever they want to take a life.
Look at Cain and Abel, the Bible's first recorded murder. One brother killed the other one simply because perhaps his sacrifice to God was less than accepted. The motive began in the heart. There were no guns or assault rifles then. We need to understand that despite the chaos and destruction happening all around us as never before, the Bible predicts that in the end of days, things would begin to unravel. For violence to increase, for earthquakes and natural disasters to increase, for turmoil to increase in our workplaces, families and homes. Everywhere you look, we are a divided nation, even world wide and what we need more than blame is prayer. It is the one thing the enemy wants us to put out of our minds and will tell us, what will that do? Would have changed anything that happened today or tomorrow?
Just like the ripples of what happened span out and affect us all by what happened today, prayer does the same thing. It affects everyone we pray for. It affects everyone who is connected to us. It reminds us that God has a plan and a purpose and it is not one to harm but one to give us a hope and a future. I believe God is trying to tell us that the solution to our problems it not in the governments hands, not in our own hands, not in placing blame, but can only be found in Him. I pray that lives will be changed and at some point, God will bring about good from this tragedy. That people will see that heroes rise up in the midst of tragic circumstances, people who put aside their own safety and cared for the life of another, simply because they are humans, not of who they are or who they are affiliated with.
Let us put down our divisions and find hope again. Let us not try and figure out who is to blame, but instead lift up those who are struggling to come to terms with what has happened. Let us show the world what the love of Jesus looks like in times like this. Let us first begin with prayer above all!
"When God's people are in need, be ready to help them." ~ Romans 12:13.
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