Note: Regaina's thoughts come from a different perspective than that of the rest of us who wrote on this subject. Regaina lives very near where the shootings took place.

Why?  

By Regaina Thompson

And the LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?"
So Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it."(Job 1:7)

God does NOT have to give us an answer to anything:

Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it. (Job 40:2) "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others." (Eph 2:1-3) "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of His creatures." (James 1:12-18) "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." (I Pet 5:8)

As I began to search through scriptures that came to mind, more and more began to pour into my head. This is an age old question: Why do these bad things happen if God is in control?

I believe that God is in control of my life when I surrender and submit to His will. I believe that Satan is in control in this dark evil world as much as God allows. We learn this from Job.  I Pet 5:8 says he, Satan, is roaming around looking for someone to devour. Those who are not God's children are not under His protection. They have to deal with things in the world as they come.

There are many scripture chapters (James 1 and 1 Pet 4 and Rom 5) that tell us we will have to endure hardships and suffering and it will make us grow. We are promised heaven and spiritual blessings if we are obedient, not necessarily earthly blessings . We have two purposes in this world; to glorify God and to bring others to Him.

God also promised us in Rom 8:28 "...that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord." God can bring good out of all situations."

What I think we can learn from this instance is:

1. We have NO idea how much longer we will be on this earth, regardless of our age.

2. We need to do EVERYTHING in our power, through His strength, to bring others to Him.

The terrifying thing about this tragedy was that someone that we knew might be dead and lost forever. Fortunately, as far as I know, no one we are acquainted with is among the dead or wounded, but it makes me think and desperately want to serve Him better and closer than ever. I don't want to go home and leave anyone behind that I care about in an unsaved condition if I can do anything to make a difference.

Side note: My husband has a business meeting on Tuesday morning with other business people and they share referrals and things to help each others' businesses. They go around the room and each person has 60 seconds to state what they are looking for this week in business. When it was Eugene's turn, he said that he was really not concerned about referrals this week, in light of the events of the day before, that money is really unimportant. That is what we need to learn, that nothing really matters except what we do for God.