I have read the news stories, read the updates, watched the news videos and wondered why something like this had to happen.
What I have been studying most in this, though, are the reactions of people. I have seen a lot of fear, hate, condemning, threats of violence, despair, hopelessness. Many blame the devil, saying that the devil orchestrated all of this to hurt these innocent people.
They are partly right, but they aren’t seeing the big picture, the grand scheme, if you will. Now I know for a fact that this revelation is Holy Spirit inspired because my Asperger’s makes it extremely difficult to see “the big picture,” even when it is pointed out to me.
But in this revelation I did indeed see “the big picture” and I knew it was my responsibility to share it with you.
See, while the shooter did kill 12 and wound many more, while families have been torn apart and lives shattered, we must look beyond the immediate. Look even past the emergency responders, police, fire department and EMTs.
This shook an entire nation. It has touched people who will never meet anyone who is directly involved in this ordeal.
This incident has affected an entire nation – and beyond, inciting fear, anger, hatred, despair, doubt, hopelessness, discouragement, depression, and the list goes on.
And those are exactly the things the devil wants us to feel, to experience. Because if we are experiencing these things, we aren’t focused on God and His healing touch, His healing, His mighty power to rise above these tragedies and bring good from them.
One of the best ways to control a population is through fear. If you have fear, your army can be rather small.
I once had a fish, an Oscar. I got it as a baby (but they grow to be very large). However, it was explained to me that if I put some smaller fish, such as goldfish, in the tank with him while he was small, even when he grew up and was three or four times larger than that goldfish, he would never bother it because in him eyes, that goldfish was larger than life because it had instilled that fear and intimidation when he was smaller.
Many of us go through this. When we are lost (not walking with God) or when we are babes in Christ, things happen to us that impact us. The devil using situations that may not even directly affect us but they touch us just the same. And those things instill fear and intimidation within us, even when we come to know Christ.
That is why the relationship is so very important. We must have a strong relationship with Christ. We must pray and worship and praise and fellowship with other believers, study His Word and attend church.
See, the devil takes us when we are vulnerable and hits us where it hurts, using fear as a tool or a distraction. I have seen evidence of how effective this is in all the writings and video displaying people’s reactions.
Yes, we need to be praying for the victims, their families, the emergency response personnel (police, fire fighters, investigators, coroner, EMTs, etc), the theater staff (who are surely traumatized), as well as the shooter himself and his parents (they must be shocked and devastated).
We must also, though, pray for the many people who have been touched by this, who have allowed fear to take hold, who are feeling hopeless, discouraged, depressed or any other negative impact. We need to reach out to these people and help them find the awesome empowerment, the hope, the joy, the security that only Jesus Christ can provide.