Isaiah 26:3,4 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 18:10 “See that you don’t look down on one of these little ones, because I tell you that in heaven their angelscontinually view the face of My Father in heaven.”
Heavenly Father,
I pray that You lay Your hand upon the community of Newport, that You comfort them in their time of sorrow and that Your grace gives them some measure of forgiveness to allow Your peace to fill their hearts and minds.
We come to You God, because we know that You sorrow, and are acquainted with grief. You too have endured the loss of a child. You empathize.
We can’t help but ask, “Why?” Forgive our insistence, our confusion, even our anger. We believe that You are just, and we ache to understand how these tragic deaths are an expression of that justice, how it expresses Your love. We also know – in our minds at least – that You seldom answer the “why?” question.
What we ask instead is “how?” How can we move forward? How can this bring us together and not tear us apart? How can we now live under the shadow of these untimely deaths? Answer this prayer with Your comfort and guidance.
There is no way to remove the pain. The grief is real. The only sanity is to know, to believe, in a life beyond with You, when all the scales are righted and the sufferings are made good. We trust You and Your promise that while these young lives on earth ares done, their lives beyond has just begun. With that release we lose them and let them go into Your arms, then by faith receive in return the boundless comfort of your presence.
In Jesus’ name we pray
Amen
May the LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace. Num 6:24-26
JP's Mind 