“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

When you see the evil in the world, turn to God.

It is difficult to write today. My heart continues to break for the children and two teachers that were gunned down yesterday at an elementary school in Texas. When I read this morning that the gunman, just a child himself, only barricaded himself in one classroom, I think about the horror experienced in the hearts and minds of the children and teachers. The children didn’t have time to process it. The teachers, like myself, are precisely trained from the beginning of our education on how to protect the children in our classrooms… the best that we can.

I believe this morning, every parent around the world hugged their child a little longer before they sent them off to school. Some, like myself, hesitated in even sending their child to school. But we can’t let evil and Satan rule.

Now, more than ever, we must address the mental health issues and spiritual issues that fuel these tragedies.

There are no words that we can say to the parents and families right now. We can only pray for them. The gut-wrenching loss will take decades to cope with. Even the families who lost loved ones in previous, unimaginable shootings, will grieve anew again.

But in all tragedies, we can turn to the Lord for hope and peace. I know from the tragedies in my own life that only the comfort of God can give peace in the middle of substantial loss. It is a peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7). It is the peace that gives you courage to take another step, to keep going on when all seems lost.

This unsurpassed peace… it is possible… it is paramount… it is Providential.

To all parents that have lost children… prodigal children, death because of illness, death because of evil… hold on, hope on, Jesus is coming soon.

Dear God,

We cry out to you from the innermost parts of our soul. The evil that happens around the world is sometimes too much to fathom. You understand. You too lost a child. Unspeakable evil happened to Him. Yet, because of His resurrection, we too can have hope as we will see our precious loved ones again. In the meantime, Lord, fill us with Your perfect peace. Comfort those who are mourning deeply. Convict the hearts of the authorities who can correct the laws that we have. Convict the churches, Lord, to reach out – not shame, those who are mentally and emotionally struggling.

We asked this in the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen