SMH

Shaking My Head.

Another mass shooting.

An overwhelming sadness fills the soul ...
of the individual ...
of a community ...
of our nation.

I sit at this keyboard and shake my head.

I tear up when I ponder the victims and the heroes.

I don't ask, "Why?"
That answer is as old as humanity itself.
"Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you" (Jesus' words to Cain, urging him to reject anger and hate, Genesis 4:7).
Some people open the door and welcome in Sin.

With disbelief I exclaim, "Not again!"
Columbine. Newtown. Boston. Orlando. (To name only a few...)
Not again!

In weariness I ask, "How long?"
I add my voice to the souls of the martyrs.
"How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until You judge the inhabitants of the earth?"

I am told, "Wait a little longer" (Revelation 6:10-11).

I am promised, "My grace is sufficient for you" (Jesus to St. Paul when he pleaded to be delivered from a personal affliction, 2 Corinthians 12:9).

I am assured, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (Jesus to His disciples on the night of His betrayal, John 16:33).

My head may shake.

But faith need not be shaken.

Faith, in fact, is proven in times like this.

Faith is proven in its love for the grieving and its care for the hurting.
People of faith "shine like stars in the universe as [they] hold out the word of life" in defiance of violence and death (Philippians 2:15-16).

Faith is proven in its conviction that our God is bigger than the trials and tragedies we face.
"We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him" (Romans 8:28).

Faith is proven in its confidence that love is stronger than hate, and God's love is stronger than anything.
"I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).

Your head may shake.

Your faith need not be shaken.