“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-4
Last Saturday night, I saw a lot of pictures showing sympathy and condolences for the victims of the shooting incident at CT. I got a bit curious about it that is why I decided to Googled “Connecticut”. I was deeply shocked and overwhelmed with what I have read: 20 little kids raging from the age 6-7 and six adults were killed at an onslaught shooting rampage at the Sandy Hook Elementary school, Newtown, Connecticut. It was said that the gunman, Adam Lanza, killed his mother at their home before he went at the school and randomly killed 26 people. Upon his arrival at the school, he shot the entrance door that was locked as a part of the newly installed security system of the school. At the Hallway, he shot the school principal and school psychologist who were trying to confront him. He then went at the kindergarten and Grade One classrooms and killed 20 students and two teachers. 
As I was reading the articles, my heart was shattered into pieces. I am very fond of kids and they have a special place at my heart. 20 innocent lives were taken away through multiple gun shots – something that we should mourn for. But apparently, I have realized that in everything God is control. Perhaps, God is teaching us some lessons and reminding us that His sovereignty envelops the earth. We may not understand why things like this happen. No matter what situation we are facing right now, whether we are mourning, suffering, agonizing, feasting or celebrating, the eyes of the Lord are upon us. Proverbs 15:3 clearly states that the eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. Because of this incident, we have learned three things that we should keep in our hearts.1. Acknowledge God’s Sovereignty in each circumstance in our lives.
“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18
God never sleeps or slumbers. He knows everything that is happening in our lives. God is the Only Source of life and He has the power to give and take away. Whether it is good or bad, our hearts should choose to give thanks. Easier said than done, right? But we have to remember that as Christians, we can do all things through Christ Jesus. Whether it is about accepting the fact that we have lost someone whom we dearly love or forgiving the one who caused a lot of heartaches in our lives, we can overcome it because Jesus Christ will strengthen us. We are called to become victors in Christ. Yes, we can mourn for a while but we have to remember that life has to go on and we need to finish this race of life that the Lord God has prepared for us. Remember, “to live is for Christ and to die is gain” ~ Philippians 1:21
2. Acknowledge that only God can heal the pain that you are experiencing right now and no one can escape from God’s justice.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” ~ Psalm 147:3
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, "I will take revenge; I will pay them back," says the LORD. ~ Romans 12:19
Only God can heal the scars made by sad and painful memories. Nobody can save you from your own misery. Unless you acknowledge that Only God is the source of freedom and salvation, you cannot move on and start a brand new slate. We should never think about taking vengeance. Let God pay them back. Yes, it is very difficult but God wants us to love our enemies just like how we love ourselves. Remember, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We used to be enemies of God but since Jesus Christ died for us, we receive the forgiveness of our sins and the spirit of sonship. This is the reason why we can cry “Abba”. Forgive yourself, your transgressors, and receive the healing that Jesus Christ is offering.
3. Acknowledge that we have hope in Christ and trials of this life are blessings in this disguise.
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” ~ Romans 8:18
“Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” ~ Romans 5:2-5
As children of the light, we have hope in Jesus Christ. Our sufferings and trials enable us to exercise our faith and take a glimpse at God’s untarnished and unconditional love of each of us. Through His grace we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Someday, after all the trials and testing that we have encountered, we are going to see each of those things in a different perspective. Our eyes will be unveiled that the glory of the Lord that is to be revealed to us is worthier than the sufferings that we have experienced as of the moment.
To the families of the victims of the Connecticut Shooting Rampage, we pray that God may heal you from the pain that you have as of the moment. We are here for you. We are praying for you.
May Yahweh’s comfort and blessing be upon you.. Amein.
3. Acknowledge that we have hope in Christ and trials of this life are blessings in this disguise.
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” ~ Romans 8:18
“Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” ~ Romans 5:2-5
As children of the light, we have hope in Jesus Christ. Our sufferings and trials enable us to exercise our faith and take a glimpse at God’s untarnished and unconditional love of each of us. Through His grace we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Someday, after all the trials and testing that we have encountered, we are going to see each of those things in a different perspective. Our eyes will be unveiled that the glory of the Lord that is to be revealed to us is worthier than the sufferings that we have experienced as of the moment.
To the families of the victims of the Connecticut Shooting Rampage, we pray that God may heal you from the pain that you have as of the moment. We are here for you. We are praying for you.
May Yahweh’s comfort and blessing be upon you.. Amein.
Note: Pictures in this article were taken from Google. Credits belong to its rightful owners.
