A SAD SHOCKING WEEK CAN WAK US FOR OUR NEED FOR GOD

A SAD SHOCKING WEEK CAN WAKE US FOR OUR NEED FOR GOD

     Boston’s marathon shocked the world when two men killed and injured people they didn’t even know.  Days later, a huge pot party was held in a city park in Colorado where another was shot.  Shots rang out at multiple schools this week.  Recently at our local grocery store, policemen stood handcuffing three people who had robbed the store. 

     We can’t control how others act, no matter how much we wish we could.  Such events raise our awareness of how little control we actually do have.  We like pretending we have control over our own lives, but we don’t.  It could have been any of us at the marathon.  Rod and I were at the finish line just a few years ago, cheering the runners.  All of us shop for groceries and visit parks.  Our kids attend school.  At any time we could encounter people creating havoc and find ourselves in their way.  We cannot predict when we might become another’s target.  Yet, we think we are in full control of our lives when the only real control we have is how we react to such events and how we behave when tempted to be the one doing wrong. 

     When it’s a public tragedy involving multiple people, sympathy is expressed around the world.  Hearts break for the hurting and their families.  Funerals cannot accommodate all the attendees, and worship services overflow the following weekend.  We seek God when we finally admit we have no control, and think, “It could have been me.”  

     We need to let such disasters serve as personal reminders and lessons for teaching our children that Satan is the culprit.  Satan has tremendous power, and he uses people for doing his evil acts.  Scripture says that Satan prowls around looking for someone to devour.  We are told to flee from him, and he can’t use us to do his evil work unless our hearts are ripe for his picking.  Satan cares nothing about the ones he uses or the people destroyed.  He only wants to hurt the Lord and using us is how he does it.   Satan is in constant battle with God, and when he uses us for harming others, it breaks God’s heart -- and Satan is ecstatic. 

     The only genuine control we have is when we call on the Lord, who promises to help us defeat Satan.  We can’t do it alone, but God can.