Where Do We Go From Here?

The world is a different place now. There was life before Charlie’s assassination. There is life now. Our questions spill over along with our tears. Why couldn’t the same God Who formed the earth and the world catch a bullet in midair? Why couldn’t He orchestrate the discovery of the nefarious plot before 12:26 pm? The truth is, He could have. A more alarming reality is that He didn’t. 

God did not intervene as we hoped, and we’re left in stunned silence. God has spoken; the truth is brutal. We bow in silence, knowing that this too is from the hand of God. For Scripture says: 

“Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?” Lamentations 3:37-38

The Scripture is right and true when it speaks, and for reasons too high and holy for me to comprehend, the Most High God has allowed this assassination. Our Christian brother has fallen slain; his widow and small children remain among us—broken, bereaved. 

What do we do, as the people of God, in seasons of soul-pain, confusion, and grief? We turn again to the solid ground of Scripture. For there we find both the bedrock of truth to stabilize our reeling souls and the consolation of our Father’s love.

We will not understand His ways. He is not like us. He is doing deep and holy work; He is orchestrating it even now.  Isaiah 55:8-9 says it this way:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” 

We will not comprehend the mind of the Lord. His ways are past finding out. However, we can know His heart as He reveals it to us throughout Scripture.

Psalm 103:13-14 reveals His fatherly compassion toward us.

Isaiah 40:11 shows how He tenderly carries us close to His heart. 

Titus 3:4-7 declares that in compassion for our lostness, He gave Himself as a sacrifice for our redemption. 

When He allows heinous acts to take place, it seemingly contradicts what He reveals about His heart of compassion and His boundless lovingkindness. However, that is when we trust His larger purposes. He desires to bring many sons and daughters out of the darkness, deception, and death and into the glorious light of truth. He is sovereign, even when His actions make no sense to us. He is good, even when evil rises for a season. He is in control, even when our world seems to be perilously spinning out of control.  

In recent days, we’ve witnessed millions gather to honor our fallen brother with prayers, remembrances, speeches, and worship. We’ve seen and heard countless stories of people giving their lives to Christ as a result of Charlie’s assassination. We’ve stood in stunned amazement as his widow spoke forgiveness and grace over his alleged assassin. We see and feel the move of the Holy Spirit among us. We’re beginning to see a glimmer of God’s greater purpose in the death of our brother. 

We wonder, what now? How do we honor our fallen brother? How do we rise to the challenge of these days? What is God asking of us?  Towards what step of faith in action is he urging each of us? 

We pray, we worship, and we gather with like-minded brothers and sisters for support and encouragement. Our next step is faithfulness–faithfulness to move forward in obedience toward the calling God has placed upon your life. 

What does that mean? What does that look or sound like? Perhaps you could enroll in a class, finish your book, share your story of healing and redemption, or take the first step toward reconciliation in a broken relationship. It is always right to pray and ask God for guidance, wisdom, and strength to do what is right and brave.

Let us rise in these days of mourning to move onward to the great challenge of this season and His holy calling upon our lives. May we acknowledge before God our deep sadness, confusion, and pain. May we turn again to the holy Scriptures and there find stability in the bedrock of truth. May we move forward in faith and take the next step of obedience, however small it may seem.  As we do so, let us take up this proclamation from the Apostle Paul: 

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither heights nor depths, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35, 37-39