Hello World,
By now, many of you know about the tragedy that occurred at World Changers Church International in College Park, Georgia last Wednesday? If you have not heard of it, let me fill you in. As Greg McDowell, 39, was leading a prayer service Wednesday morning, Floyd Palmer, 59, a former World Changers employee allegedly walked into the church and shot McDowell six times, according to the AJC. McDowell, a husband and father of two toddlers, died shortly thereafter.
Later on Wednesday, Palmer, who apparently has shot a man before and spent time in a mental institution, was arrested and will likely be punished for his alleged actions. Still, whatever satisfaction McDowell’s family may feel as the alleged shooter is now in police custody, it does not answer the question, “Why Did You Allow This to Happen, God?”
The day following the shooting, I overheard some people at work discussing the shooting and they pondered why God would allow a man to be shot and killed as he was praying inside of a church no less. And it does seem ironic that a man who was obviously demonstrating his dependence on the Omniscient Power of the universe was not made aware of pending tragedy and spared from harm…
I’m not even going to lie. I don’t understand. I won’t even pretend that I do. But I do think that God will comfort McDowell’s wife and children and extended family in the days to come and give them insight as they seek His guidance and care. As one pastor said at a memorial service I recently attended, we won’t always understand everything that happens which is the essence of faith, but God will see us through everything that happens. My all-time favorite writer Catherine Marshall’s husband Pastor Peter Marshall, 46, died after suffering a heart attack when she was 34 years old, and she too pondered why God would allow this happen to them? She wrote about seeking God for answers to this tragedy in one of my favorite books “To Live Again.” She writes about feeling duped by God, being angry with God and questioning her faith altogether…She got all sorts of answers that can be read about in the book, but ultimately, she claimed this verse, my absolute favorite verse in the entire Bible, for herself and her nine-year-old son as they faced life without her husband…
And we know that in all things (good and bad) God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
Why do think God allows tragedies to occur in the lives of Christians? This song seems appropriate this morning…
Any thoughts?