After what occurred Sunday in Las Vegas, whose heart cannot be heavy? As a Pastor, I struggle with what to say and how to respond to these types of tragedies.
Christianity Today posted an article yesterday that cited 4 verses that Christians turn to after mass shootings. I found that these verses were particularly helpful to me, and so I decided to re-post them here for your meditation:
- John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
- Psalm 34:18: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
- Romans 12:19: “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”
- Psalm 11:5 “The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion.”
To see how they came up with these verses and links to other helpful articles, see CT’s whole article here.
For those questioning how a good God could allow suffering, I offer my summary of Tim Keller’s insights in his book The Reason for God here.
Thanks for sharing. I can see that each of these verses could lend comfort to all of us!