Dealing with the Sadness

How do you respond to the news that so many innocent lives have been taken? When I received word of the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday I felt sick. There are always more questions than answers and we are left to wonder "why?" and "what could have been?". Let us pray for all who are touched by this tragedy. God hears our prayers and delivers comfort and grace to those who are hurting. Sometimes these events affect our own sense of safety. That's understandable. It's tough when places we assume are safe are no longer safe. On a deeper level it is a reminder that we are not "safe" according to our external circumstance or location. "Safety" depends on our place with God. True "safety" is eternal and not temporary. It reaches beyond the events of this life. Preserve your relationship with God. I appreciate the words of Eugene Peterson and the way he encourages us to cherish our relationship with God in the midst of pain. He writes, "all the water in all the oceans cannot sink a ship unless it gets inside. Nor can all the trouble in the world harm us unless it gets within us. ..None of the things that happen to you, none of the troubles you encounter, have any power to get between you and God, dilute His grace in you, divert His will form you."