God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
(Psalm 46:1 NKJV)
This has been a heavy week.
News reports of violence have added up. In Baltimore last month a Ukrainian refugee woman was murdered in cold blood by a man with a long rap sheet but no reason to commit murder. In Colorado Wednesday, a 16 year-old high school boy shot up a school, hit two classmates, and then turned the gun on himself. In Utah Wednesday conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was assassinated from 200 yards away by someone with deadly intent and sharpshooter skills. And yesterday we remembered a day of infamy, when 19 people hijacked four planes and cased the deaths of 2977 innocent civilians, bringing the reality of terror to all Americans.
Heavy.
Yesterday, while doing my usual Mom Taxi duties and waiting for my boys to finish a class, I made a point of finding an outdoor spot to get some work done. I ended up in a warm, bright patch of shade where I could see the grass, watch the clouds, and breathe in the fresh air. Later, one of my sons and I went for a walk on the beach. I took off my sandals so I could feel the sand and the lake’s waves against my feet.
Earlier in the day, I had been listening to a Ravel piano concerto and some hauntingly beautiful choral music by an Estonian composer on our local NPR station—not my usual choice of radio. When one of my sons asked why I was listening to that kind of music, I realized that, in contrast to all the darkness in the news lately, what I really needed was beauty.
We humans live in a world that God created to be beautiful and good. Yet it’s also a world that has been polluted, corrupted, and scarred by darkness, ugliness, and evil. We know that Jesus came to redeem the world, but we live in the tension of the “already but not yet”—a space where good and bad coexist and constantly compete for our attention.
Yesterday, I felt the weight of that tension and needed to detox from the heaviness. So I turned to the beauty of God’s creation.
The feeling of sand under my feet, the breeze on my skin, the sight of clouds drifting across a blue sky, the sound of birds and waves—all of it reminded me that God is still the Creator and Sustainer of life. Yes, there is no shortage of terrible things in this world, but sometimes we need to intentionally turn our eyes away from the brokenness and fix them on what is good, true, and godly.
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8 NLT)
God,
Sometimes our strength and hope falter when we look at the events unfolding in the world around us. The darkness seems ascendant—yet we know that your light shines brighter still.
Thank you for the promise that you have overcome the world, and that even though we face trouble in this life, you are our peace. Thank you for your Word, which reminds us that you are our God, our strength, our help, the one who upholds us and tells us, “Do not fear.” You are our strength and our portion.
Thank you for the beauty you’ve placed in this world—music, nature, people, and so much more—that reflects your perfect goodness and creativity. Help us to seek you in all these places, to listen to your Word, and to trust you—Emmanuel, God with us.
But Lord, also help us to be bold in our prayers for the brokenness we see. Help us not to shrink back in fear, but to pray courageously for justice in every dark and painful situation. May we not move in anger or with a desire for revenge, but instead pray for your peace to reign in and around each circumstance.
Today, we lift up the families of those who have been killed or injured. We ask that your comfort and peace would surround them. We pray for truthful, accurate investigations and just prosecutions in every case.
In the name of Jesus, we ask for an end to all acts of violence, and for them to be replaced with your beautiful shalom peace. AMEN.
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. (John 16:33 ESV)
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 ESV)
My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26 ESV)
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5 NIV)
That you may show yourselves to be blameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, children of God without blemish (faultless, unrebukable) in the midst of a crooked and wicked generation [spiritually perverted and perverse], among whom you are seen as bright lights (stars or beacons shining out clearly) in the [dark] world… (Philippians 2:15 AMPC)
He puts an end to wars all over the earth. He breaks an archer’s bow. He cuts spears in two. He burns chariots. (Psalm 46:9 GW)