Elizabeth and I were out in Denver leaving the Park Meadows Mall this past Saturday, July 13, 2024, just after 5:00 MST. I get a text from my brother, “President Trump has been shot.”
I thought, “No way.” But it was true.
Over the days, I pondered as I listened and read various takes on the attempted assassination. I thought how strange or unreal it was that an easy shot of approximately 140 yards missed its target. Yet, at the same time this bullet struck a husband and father mere feet from behind him.
Where is God in all of this? Some claimed divine protection. Others cringed at any discussion of the divine.
I recalled some 20 years ago reading a devotion on 1 Kings 22:34. King Ahab disguised himself to protect his whereabouts to save his life. Verse 34: “But a certain man drew his bow at random and stuck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate.”
At random, was it mere chance or (supposed) karma? I know, a lucky shot! No, God was working.
Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 3: “For everything there is a season…a time to be born, and a time to die.”
Jesus is the Timekeeper; He determines the days of every person. “The times of good and the times of evil are fixed and appointed, but only God knows exactly when they will happen…God remains God,” (James Bollhagen, Concordia Commentary: Ecclesiastes, p. 132).
Two men died that day, July 13, 2024, one on the roof (the assassin) and the other in the stands behind the former president. The former president lived. Was it a mere random bullet?
What purpose then is God working?
Is God going to cause or allow Donald Trump to be president? Or Joe Biden to be re-elected? Don’t know. Does God have further purpose in mind for America? Don’t know. But we trust God’s workings.
Who would have suspected the bloodied body of a man named Jesus to accomplish salvation for all? Jesus’ crucifixion owned divine, saving intent for you. His exact day of death was by His Father’s design.
We do know. We DO KNOW. God is working every angle to sustain and to expand His family of believers. We do know that God is working all things for the good of His people (Romans 8:28).
Was it a mere At random bullet that day, July 13, 2024? Ponder with me.