Aftermath: the consequences or aftereffects of a significant unpleasant event.
I am typing this out so I can be especially concise and focused. This is part two, adding to last week's blog.
Let's be real, the world feels different. At least it does to me. Recent tragic events leave me almost tiptoeing a bit through life. Not fearful. Not any less faith-filled. Just less…sure. I want to learn all I can and absorb God's presence in all of it. He is a communicative Creator. And I don't fully make sense of it all. I comprehend the general reason for evil, but my limited human understanding can't sit nicely with this. I don't think we're meant to. In all of it, God is speaking.
What is He saying?
John 13:7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.”
The above verse is in the context of the Last Supper. Even so, I think that verse applies often in our lives. There's the Psalm 91 protection, the Romans 8:28 on God's goodness and ultimate sovereignty, and this verse:
Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
And this…
Psalm 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Two quick call outs on the above verse. First, the many afflictions part. Second, we are delivered out of them all. However, God's definition of “delivered” and ours may vary.
My pastor recently said, “When pain is high, teachability is low.” It's worth repeating.
When pain is high, teachability is low.
Some things need time for processing. Praying through it. Having our hearts touched by God.
And some experiences can't be reconciled in our brains on this side of eternity.
So where does that leave us? Well, what I can tell you in this moment is the following…
God makes decisions based on the eternal perspective. He considers the greater good. Many, many people have come to Christ or came back to Him in the aftermath of Charlie's assassination. We want comfort. God wants souls. This doesn't mean God wanted or caused this crime to happen. It means it was allowed.
Winners of souls must first be weepers of souls. -Charles Spurgeon
My children have asked me many “why” questions. I don't have the answers they're looking for. And likely, we couldn't understand or bear the knowledge if God revealed it to us. This is what I have told them.
1 Corinthians 9:24-25 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
Even this…
Revelation 6:10-11 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
We are all heading to our eternal destination. Run well so you finish strong and right before God. The enemy would want us gripping in fear, clinging so closely to others we love and our lifestyle that we don't let anything in nor let people roam through their world as God calls them to. I admit, I have battled with fearing for the next disaster. Next trial. Next hard thing. Expecting bad. If that is your struggle right now, ask the Holy Spirit to meet you in it and deliver you.
I am going to close here with this final point. God places commas, not periods, on the stories of a believer. It is not over. And, in the end, there is no more evil, sorrow, pain, death, or disasters.
There is such a thing as “happily ever after”. It's not in this current world. But it's coming. May we keep that in mind as we live, and when we meet broken, lost people.
In the aftermath, there is hope.
Father, help us to trust You and rest in Your love. Forgive us for our doubts, fears, and unbelief. Meet us in our brokenness and fill us with Your love. Keep our focus on You and Your kingdom. Help us steward all You've given us well. We want to walk in wisdom in every area of our lives. In Yeshua's name, amen.