As a believer in America, what is going through your mind this morning? What can we do to ease the suffering of those directly affected by the shooting yesterday? How do we move forward toward celebrating a new Sunday this week without the horrific tragedy of yesterday at the forefront of our minds? Will we gather free of fear and able to focus on heart-felt worship? Or will we be tentative and distracted?
Yesterday was the first of two consecutive Sundays set aside as International Days of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. We live in an era in which Christians are persecuted. There are countries around the world that do not allow open worship of Jesus. And even in our own country, the church is being painted as an institution of hate instead of the gathering of believers who love.
Jesus prophesied and said that if we follow him, we will be hated by the world. This is nothing new. But when something like the shooting in Sutherland Springs happens so close to home, this prophesy takes on powerful significance.
So what do we do? How do we move forward?
First, we pray. We pray for our brothers and sisters in Sutherland Springs. We ask for God to bring healing – both physical and emotional as well as spiritual. We ask God to find us faithful as the larger church in being strength and encouragement for those who were directly impacted by this act of cowardice.
Second, we trust. Not one of us knows what tomorrow will bring and because of that fact, we must approach the day in one of two ways. We either hide in hopes of finding protection, or we trust God to walk with us through whatever this day may bring. I choose to trust.
No matter the evil we face in this world, God is bigger!
Never forget that fact!
Clay in the Hands 
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