Since Charlie Kirk’s tragic death last week, perhaps you’ve heard people ask, “Why didn’t God stop Tyler Robinson?” Or, ”Why is so much violence occurring in our country? Why does God allow such suffering [1]?”
Perhaps you’ve been wondering yourself.
But even if we knew the answers to all of our why questions, we’d still want to ask God: Couldn’t you have accomplished your purpose some other way?
Better than seeking answers (that likely won’t satisfy), we’d settle our spirits more effectively if we sought perspective, built our hope and faith with God’s promises, and encouraged our hearts with praise.
See Job’s example, Job 1:20
Perspective
I appreciate this wisdom from Eugene Peterson:
“We underestimate God and overestimate evil. We don’t see what God is doing and conclude he’s doing nothing . . .
“We see evil everywhere, holding countless people hostage whether as perpetrators or victims. We must remember: ‘evil is not everything and it is not everywhere’ . . . [neither is it] wild and uncontrollable. It has an origin and a finish . . .
. . . “We cannot afford to be naïve about evil—it must be faced. But we cannot be intimidated by it either. It will be used by God to bring good [2].”
Evil must be faced, he says, raising the question, how? The Bible tells us: with prayer, with goodness, and with soft (not incensed or arrogant) responses to anger [3].
Peterson also asserts God uses evil for good. What possible good could God accomplish from Charlie Kirk’s assassination?
Just since last Wednesday, there are more than one million new subscribers to Charlie’s organization, Turning Point USA, and more than 54,000 new requests for Turning Point chapters at high schools, colleges, and universities across the country.
I pray that as participants hear about Charlie’s faith, his passion for the institutions of marriage and family, as well as his irrefutable logic in support of biblical values, they too will accept Christ into their lives, to experience the God-enhanced life he offers [4].
Promise
Charles Spurgeon would have us understand:
What might those stars of promise include?
- Psalm 9:9-10 “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
- Romans 8:31 “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
- Romans 16:20 “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”
We can also be encouraged by such scripture-based affirmations as:
- “Underneath are the everlasting arms, full of sustaining comfort and strength” [5].
- “I know nothing which can so comfort the soul, so calm the swelling billows of grief and sorrow, so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead” [6].
- “The devil may land a punch or two. He may even win a few rounds, but he never wins the fight” [7].
Praise
Even though it’s counterintuitive to praise God when we’re distressed, it’s a powerful way to lift our spirits [8].
Perhaps we could begin . . .
I praise you, Lord, for drawing especially near to those who are hurting. You DO make your presence known in palpable ways. And to sense your presence is to experience inexplicable peace and comfort. I pray this for Charlie Kirk’s family and friends.
I praise you also for your Word that ministers consolation and strength. May we all avail ourselves with renewed appetite for your truth.
Psalm 34:18; 139:7-10; John 16:33;
Lamentations 3:32-33; Psalm 119:49-50;
Proverbs 15:14
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[1] Two worthwhile books that consider such questions: The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis and Os Guinness’ book, Last Call for Liberty.
[2] Excerpts from pp. 55-57 of Run with the Horses.
[3] Luke 6:27-28; Proverbs 15:1
[4] John 10:10
[5] Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, 145; Deuteronomy 33:27
[6] Charles Spurgeon, from a sermon, “The Immutability of God”; Isaiah 26:3
[7] Max Lucado, Grace for the Moment, 91; 1 John 3:8
[8] Isaiah 61:1-3
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