09/11/2025
Eternal God,
We struggle on days like today, remembering what occurred 24 years ago and then what just happened yesterday. And that’s just the beginning, as each day is filled with enough trouble of its own. We wrestle with our own real and raw emotions when we hear of the evil acts that take the lives of a speaker, a train rider, students in school, just to name a few. We hurt and grieve at the loss of life and those who now must walk a new chapter without those they loved. We battle against the fury and anger that swirl around inside of us over what we’ve seen or heard. Meanwhile, fears and concerns flood our minds and fill our hearts as we wonder how much worse it will get. And perhaps there is a part of us that is simply tired of it all.
King David said it so well, “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” What is mankind… tainted by sin and bent towards evil. What is mankind… set on personal revenge and suffocated by biased and blind judgments. That you are mindful and care for mankind, Lord, should bring us to our knees. We don’t deserve it. We have no right to it. You should cast us aside, but in love that astounds, you don’t. As shocked as we are by evil, lead us to be even more shocked by your response to it. You sent your Son to endure the worst to give us the best. You gave your one and only to make us pure and holy. You offered him up to death that through him we might have life. A blood-stained cross and empty grave are proof of it.
Let that beautiful truth flood our hearts and fill our minds each day, we pray. As we wrestle with what has occurred and the emotions we are processing, focus us on your unwavering compassion through Christ our Savior, hoping in you, confident of your love. In our sadness and sorrow, give us Easter joy. In our moments of despair and grief, give us eternal confidence. In this time of darkness, let the light of your truths and promises shine ever brighter. In this moment, use us Lord, to speak ever more boldly your word of grace and peace.
Come, Lord Jesus, in your grace, in your power, and in your glory, and take your ransomed children home!
Amen.
