In my last blog, I talked about the NYC Muslim terrorist attack with a pickup truck. Since then we've had yet another act of madness and evil, the church shooting in Texas. This is horror with an added twist - it was perpetrated against a church, against God's people. Even the poor pastor has lost his 14 year old daughter. I can just hear people asking, "Why did God allow this?" Skeptics or atheists might even say, "This proves there's no all-powerful and all-good God. If such a God existed, He would never allow this to happen to His people, would He?" Well-meaning Christians may even be trying to come up with explanations as to why God would have allowed this hateful act. Maybe there's some secret divine plan that we'll all understand someday in heaven? To that sort of thinking, I say one word - baloney! Don't blame God for this - He had nothing to do with it!
This is a fallen, demon-infested world, where evil spirits continually seek to steal, kill, or destroy God's creations anyway they can. What happened in Texas was not some great plan that seems horrendous to us but is actually wonderful and we'll understand it by and by. No, this was a deranged young man who became a pawn for Satan and his minions. He was a person they could twist and influence to do this terrible damage to a congregation of God's people. This pastor and his wife have lost their 14 year old daughter. This church has lost half its congregation. The witness they had in that small town is diminished through this loss of life. This murderous act will cause unbelievers to mock and sow seeds of doubt about God's existence and His goodness. It could cause God's people to doubt His goodness or His purposes. People may not even continue to meet there because the memories will be too painful. It is not something God allowed for His good purposes. It was an act perpetrated by fallen, malicious spirits and a fallen, very broken and twisted young man. God had nothing to do with it, so let's not blame Him or try to figure out how to explain why He was secretly behind this. No, whoever is not for Him is against Him, period! Whoever does not gather with Him scatters, period! (Matt. 12:30)
As I said last time in the blog about Islamic terrorism, these violent acts make no sense at all to a rational mind. They don't extend anyone's political power or win converts to Islam or make money for anybody or produce anything desirable. If there is no devil, there is no explanation for any of this and it serves no useful purpose. But if there is a malignant force who is the dark prince of the power of the air (Jn. 12:31; Eph. 2:2), the god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4), the ruler of this fallen and corrupted world (Jn. 14:30), and the one under whose power the entire world lies (1 Jn. 5:19), then suddenly, we have our explanation. These terror attacks and mass shootings are ultimately the work of the "cosmic murderer," Satan (Jn. 8:44). Satan isn't out to make money or to win converts or to establish some new enterprise. He only wants to destroy what God has made, to bring chaos and fear, hatred, and darkness. He wants people to blame God or to doubt God because of the horrors and the suffering of this life. He wants us to sink into despair and give up hope. He wants us afraid and worried and filled with hate and bitterness, seeking revenge, or seeking to drown our sorrows. He wants the world and mankind in general to not fulfill God's purpose and design.
So let's not blame God for any of this or think He has a secret plan behind it. This is of the devil, period. What we should do, as we hear week after week of another of these terrible tragedies, is remember who's behind it. We should make sure we tell others that too. God is good, and out for our good. His will is blessing, not curses. Let's pray that people will have their eyes opened, that they'll be turned from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God (Acts 26:18). Let's pray God turns this around, that it'll backfire on the devil, and turn out to be something that exposes him, so that people who never believed in a spiritual world will begin to see how real it is, and will want to be on the side of life and light, not darkness and death.
Let's also pray for our brothers and sisters of this small town. That their faith will not fail. That God will comfort and strengthen them, and help them know He had nothing to do with this, but is with them in spite of it. Let this tragedy make people long to be free of Satan's domination and long to enter into the Kingdom of God's dear Son (Col. 1:13). Let's pray that tragedy will be a motivator for everyone in this town, especially the believers, to seek God as never before, and to turn toward Him now, not away from Him. Let's pray God turns this into a testimony of victory, that everyone might see that, yes, believers do suffer and experience tragedy, just as unbelievers do, but they have a Source of strength and hope when they go through trials, that the world simply cannot explain or experience, and that the world also cannot deny. Let's pray that God somehow gets glory in the midst of horror and tragedy, in a way that only He can. May this dark background serve to make the brightness of God shine forth in greater measure than ever.
Don't blame God for the horrors of this demon-infested world. Instead, let's praise Him more and more as we see the contrast between Him and the devil. Let's thank Him for the light He gives us in the midst of darkness. And let's rejoice in the fact that He has already rescued us from Satan's clutches to a great extent, and made us understand the great hope we have in Christ. Someday not that far off, those who've accepted Christ will enter into a devil free, sin free, sorrow free life that will last for eternity. The hateful and malicious devil will be driven out, along with all who serve him, and only Christ will be Lord on that day. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!