Why Didn't God Stop It?

Why didn't God stop it? He could have prevented the deaths of the innocent children and teachers at an elementary school yesterday*. He could have saved everyone and none of this would have happened. As we struggle for reasons and understanding, only God knows the answer.

The tears all of us shed today would fill an ocean. The hearts of the world are broken and shattered. We are stunned, shocked. Such a senseless act defies any logic. These children were ours, brought up in our country. Now they are gone before their lives really began.

All we can do is to turn to Our Father for comfort. He mourns as we do, but he also welcomes those little ones and the others into his presence in heaven. They are with him now and there they will remain forever, even as we remember them for the rest of our lives.

God hears our cries. He feels our pain and suffers as well. Still, he is great enough to accept all of our questions, our doubt and our anger at the same time he grants us his peace. Only he is big enough to hold all of us in his arms at the same time and, in his miraculous way, sustain us in the days ahead.

We need to remember the words of St. Paul: "God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us." (2 Corinthians 1:4) That is what we must do now. We have to take care of one another as God takes care of us. May we let our heavenly love be greater than our worldly sadness, knowing He will indeed calm our troubled spirits.

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:15-18

*Written in 2012 in response to school shootings in Connecticut.

Copyright 2012, Bruce Swaffield. Used by permission.