Our nation is grieving because of senseless killings. Can any of us describe how we feel? These are scary times, and amidst all the chaos and confusion, I find myself searching for Bible verses to ground my troubled soul like a tree with roots so deep that it does not fall during a violent storm.
This is the first blog in my new series, “Three Things I Know Are True.” Each post will address a difficulty or struggle in our lives and be paired with three Bible verses to give us strong roots in times of trouble.
The struggle to be addressed in this blog is: I have an unsettled and anxious feeling about the killings that occurred last week in America. It makes me feel unsafe, scared, and insecure about our future as a nation. What truths can I hold onto to find peace?
Here are the three Bible verses that I believe meet our core need during times of evil and senseless killings. You’ll see they are all centered around one subject.
John 11:35 Jesus wept.
The shortest sentence in the Bible speaks volumes to me. It tells me I have a savior who shares my humanity. Jesus cries over the same things we do.
Jesus wept because his friends were grieving and weeping over the death of Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha. The two sisters sent for Jesus while Lazarus was still ill; however, because Jesus did not come right away, he died, and now he was in the tomb.
Mary said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:32) After the Jews saw that Jesus wept, they said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” (John 11:36).
Clearly, we can see that Jesus’s friends were disappointed. They didn’t understand why Jesus had not kept Lazarus from dying when he had the power to make a blind man see. To them, this was a senseless death that Jesus could have prevented.
Aren’t we in the same predicament? We lose loved ones too soon. We wonder if God cares.
But Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” (John 11:43). And Lazarus walked out of the tomb.
Though the people who were killed last week did not come back to life, the story in John 11 tells me that Jesus is all about giving us a resurrected life. It may not be an earthly resurrection like Lazarus’s, but it will be a heavenly resurrection when we die. Jesus cares when we die.
Which leads me to the next thing I know is true.
Matthew 28:5-6 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”
Now it is Jesus’s turn to be buried in a tomb after his death on a cross. And like Lazarus, Jesus is raised back to life. The angel told the women not to be afraid. To me, when the angel says, “He is not here,” it means to me, “You will not find him in a tomb because He doesn’t belong there. Death had no hold on Him.”
And in our death, the angel will say the same thing to our loved ones. “You will not find them in this tomb. They have risen.”
What is the reason for being on this earth without the promise of eternal life beyond the grave? This is the one thing Jesus offers us so that even in death, we will not be afraid.
Which now leads me to the third thing I know is true.
John 14:1-3 Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Jesus is telling us not to let our hearts be troubled. Why? Jesus promises us a new life with Him after our time on earth. There is a place that is being prepared for us after we die. To me, when I see a person’s life cut short, this verse really helps me understand that life on earth isn’t supposed to be everything we will ever experience. If that were true, I would say it is unfair because some people suffer a lot more than others.
These three Bible verses that address senseless killings are all about the resurrected life Jesus gives us. In the face of death, there is hope. And as you meditate on these Bible verses about the promise of a resurrected life beyond the grave, may the roots of your tree spread wide, offering stability and strength to you in times of trouble.
