Stunned disbelief

Stunned disbelief...

33 dead at Virginia Tech. Horror, shock, grief, fear. The students, their parents, the faculty, ...Cho Seung-Hui.

As a pastor, I'm supposed to have answers. I don't.

I have questions. What was going on in the tortured heart and mind of Cho Seung-Hui? What horrors defined his victims final moments? What of the grieving parents and families left behind?

I don't have answers but I do have faith. I believe that God grieves with us. I believe that what happened earlier this week is an example of the darkness of sin. It underscores why God hates sin....because it kills those He loves!

I pray for the families of the victims. I pray for the University Administration as they struggle to navigate this impossible situation amidst the media's callous criticism and blame game. I pray for a nation that has forgotten how to teach right and wrong and then wonders why people are so lost. I pray for those who will struggle with a new sense of fear.

In times like this, I am thankful for prayer. God listens and He responds. He will comfort the grieving and meet the seeking. When tragedy strikes we can become angry and fearful...

...or we can pray.

Days

I just got back from a trip to Chicago and the South Bend area of Indiana. I am in a leadership position for our fellowship of churches and we had some meetings last week at Bethel College, our denominational school. The unique thing about this trip was that I took my daughter with me. I wanted her to check out our college as a possibility for her in a few years. We had a great time together and she really enjoyed the school.

I must say while we were there I was struck hard by the fact that my little girl was checking out a college. Where did the time go? Isn't she just 7...or is it 8? No, she learning to drive and thinking about college. As a parent it makes me very aware of the time I have left before she starts following her own path...without me. The time is going by so fast. I hope I have made the most of it.

As I look ahead to the next few years I am very aware that life is made up of days; I don't want to waste a single one.

The object of faith

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. – John 15:7-8

Have you ever wanted something so badly that you practically begged God to bring it to pass? I have….and I will confess that some of these prayers have been answered in the way I desired and some haven’t. I will also confess that the ones not going my way have caused me a considerable amount of soul searching. The above passage from John 15 hasn’t really helped either. Was I not remaining in Christ? Were His words not in me? Was I not a “real” disciple?

I can see how remaining in Him and His words being in me would impact the way I pray. It causes me to pray differently; more like Him; according to His will. But in the case of many of my “unanswered” prayers, I felt like I was in Him, praying His will. Some might say I just didn’t have enough faith, which I suppose is possible, but I’m not so sure.

What if the problem lies not in the amount of faith but rather the object of my faith? I think when reading John 15:7, we get really excited about the phrase “whatever you wish”. The danger here is in putting our faith in a particular, desired outcome. “God is faithful and the scripture is true if He answers my prayer in the way I envision with the outcome I expect.” Instead, my faith needs to simply be in Him, trusting that His ways are higher than mine, His solutions better. Let me give you a hint: When God doesn’t respond as you would, remember…that’s why He’s God and you’re not. When we pray, let’s put our faith in our Father not in our idea of what should happen. He is working and some of those prayers we’ve given up on are being answered; just in a better way.