All I can do is pray

John 14:26-27 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

The past 36 hours have brought shocking news to my doorstep, news that left me speechless, news that left me numb with pain and questions from what I heard. Two friends lost loved ones to separate incidences of violence this weekend; one a sister, and one a son, gone from this world in an instant. Our first questions are seemingly why; it is a natural sinful state reaction to the pain we immediately feel; we question the sovereignty of the creator and sustainer of our universe. It is OK, God knows the hurt we are feeling, the pain he has allowed, but he sees the outcome and “possibilities” of the eternal picture of what we are going through. The Bible tells us that we can’t understand his ways, and the stories of his sovereignty are woven throughout it’s entirety. Isaiah 55:8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

I told the friend I was able to talk to, I knew not what to say, that I was speechless to the news, but all I could do is to pray. Many times we can say the wrong things if we try too hard to find the right words. Many times we stumble down roads that seem harsh, when all we need to do is to be there with them, to pray for them, and to remind them that only faith can get them through this. God has drawn many people to himself through tragedies; it is one of his ways he gets us to focus on the eternal, when he reminds us of our mortality. (His ways are not our ways.) Think of the trial of Job in the Bible, of how great he suffered, and how his faith persevered and became an example to all of eternity. Pain breaks down barriers, pain brings intimacy with God when we cry out to him, for we may know nothing else to do.

Jesus was telling his disciples he was leaving them, they were afraid of what the future held. Jesus knew this, and gave them great news of who was coming to be with them when he left; they (we also) were getting the Holy Spirit as a gift from God to dwell within them; to abide in our innermost being, a part of the Trinity lives within the believer. Jesus spoke of the power he was giving us was greater than we could imagine, of how we could do great things. Many times we see those going through life and question how they can handle all that comes at them. Many times they testify it is through their faith in God. Jesus told us not to worry, to only seek him first and concentrate on today, not to worry about tomorrow. Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. When the unimaginable pain filters through God’s hands into your life, know it did pass through his sovereign design, and that he has yours and all of eternity in view; he wants to draw you near, and I pray that you will seek him with all your heart, mind, body and soul when life’s pain comes your way. All I can do is to pray……..