The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. - Acts 17:24
What started off like any other weekend two days ago has ended with death, division, and more questions than answers.
When a twenty-two year old singer is gunned down after her concert, we mourn a life cut short and what might have been. So much promise. A brilliant voice silenced. We don’t know the reason, but now her family knows a loss like no other.
When 50 people are gunned down and more than that injured in the name of terror, we feel violated and wonder what this world is coming to. We demand justice. Lines are drawn and political sides are taken.
When police arrest a man with guns and explosives on his way to a parade, preventing who knows what, we want to know when enough is enough.
And where is hope in all of this?
If our hope relies on a future we can’t see, we will be disappointed. If our hope is in the laws and our government, we may not like the outcome. If our hope is in the goodness of humanity, we will always be let down. If we base our hope on how things look in the world, our hearts will constantly be filled with fear and discouragement.
Our anchor needs something that will hold.
It’s not in anything this world can offer, but in Christ who offered himself in exchange for the world. He holds our lives in his hands – where our names are permanently etched in his scars. He knows the beginning from the end and comforts us when we’re brokenhearted. He never promised us life without pain or unanswered questions, but he did promise to walk with us in the midst of them, and be the one thing that remains unchanged. The one constant in the trials.
He also promised a day when all would be made right again, and everything would come to order. An end to the chaos. Until that day, we need to stay close to Christ who is constant. We need to pray for those who don’t know his security.
And we need to always remember where our hope is found.
