While waiting for my early morning cup of coffee to brew, I opened the Facebook account on my phone. I was immediately hit with these words posted by Courtney Collingsworth Metz: "I'm heartbroken!! We were just together in May at Gaither Family Fest. Please, please pray for my friend, Autumn. She desperately needs your prayers!" She then shared a link that explained how Autumn's parents, Jason and Kelly Nelon Clark, along with her sister, Amber and brother-in-law, Nathan, as well as three other dear friends were involved in a tragic, fatal plane crash yesterday afternoon on their way to join the Gaither Homecoming Cruise to Alaska. There were seven in total whose lives are suddenly gone from this earth, but at home with their Heavenly Father.
This falls on the heels of an equally horrific event that happened this week in a nearby town. In the early evening a young couple were walking with their infant daughter on the sidewalk when a drunk driver involved in an accident lost control of his vehicle striking the family. The husband and dad, Spencer, was killed, his wife Brienna is in the hospital with injuries and their five-month-old baby daughter Lily was not seriously injured.
Reading about these accidents breaks my heart, as do so many other situations of loss, surprising diagnosis, unexpected marriage separations, shootings, fires and weather-related devastation just to name a few. I think it's only natural to fall to our knees in tears. We live in a very broken world and death is part of life, but when it happens so suddenly and seemingly senselessly, we struggle to understand.
Not acting in godly wisdom, King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah led their armies against Ramoth-gilead. Warned by Micaiah, a prophet of the LORD, that a battle will result in the loss of his life, king Ahab still moves forward, disregarding the caution that could spare his life. As an added measure of protection, Ahab disguises himself and sets Jehoshaphat up as a decoy thinking the enemy army will only attack a king in royal robes. An accidental arrow was not aimless. It moved in the path of God's plan despite Ahab's attempts to hide.
We can't manipulate God's plans. There is no such thing as a "randomly shot arrow". That strike of the weapon was not chance. It hit between the joints of the king's armour. Do we comprehend how very precise that aim had to be? This was not a big bullseye, but a tiny target. That arrow flew in direct proportion to God's prophecy. You see, as hard as it is to often accept and understand, we either believe in a God who is sovereign over all things or we don't. His hand can direct an arrow, a car and a plane. It is so difficult for us to fathom the "why's".
"Random" is not a word in God's vocabulary. Everything that God permits is by divine design.
That health crisis- a doorway to trust.
That job loss - a preplanned walk.
That broken relationship - a foreknown journey.
That emotional struggle - a watched over battle.
That prodigal child - a chapter, but not the end of the story.
That financial stress - an opportunity for God to provide.
So, today my heart grieves with the hurting and the broken. I sit with the mourners and cry over each tragedy. I look to a future Kingdom trusting in God's goodness, faithfulness and love. knowing that every "arrow" that touches my life, passes through the bow held in the hands of God's permissive will.
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