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About God's Will

From my comments section: Lynn asked me: "Amy, You probably heard on the news about the man who went into an Amish school house and shot 10 girls. 5 have died, I have heard 1 has been taken off life support and brought home to die, and the other 4 are hospitalized. . . . . . I have always had great respect for the Amish as they are truly devout Christians who endeavor to live honest, faithful lives.
I realize you are not Amish, but a comment coming out of that community confuses me. The Amish say it was God's will that this happen and that these children die. I understand that they feel that the children are innocent and have gone to heaven. I don't understand the "God's will" part.
The Amish believe that God's hand is in everything, and that all things only happen by God's will. I just can't imagine the terror these girls faced in their last minutes and the shootings are God's will.
What are your thoughts on this?"

My Answer: 

Ecclesiastes 9:1 So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God's hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him.

Ecclesiastes 9:12 People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy

I believe that God is in control. I know He knows not only my future but that of my children and their children and their children etc. God calls me not to worry [Matthew 6:25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life. Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.] and I know that my children are gifts from Him [James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.] and I know He knows the number of our days [Job 14:5 Man's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.].
So was it God’s will for these children to die?
 We must remember that we live in a fallen world. Sin brought evil, in all its forms, into this world. Evil is real. God does not condone evil- yet it happens to good people, to bad people and to God-loving, forgiven and set-free Christian people. Being a Christian doesn’t give my family some super-duper bubble of protection against the evils of this world. But- being a Christian does give me the peace that passes all understanding- that no matter what happens in my life and in the lives of those I love- He is in control.
I lost our first child at 9 weeks (but did not know it until my 12 week check-up). I do not know why my darling baby’s heart ceased to beat but it did and I was devastated. My husband and I sought the counsel of a dear friend and pastor. He asked me “Whose child was it?” I replied, “Mine.” He asked me twice more- on that third time I had finally gotten his point and my answer changed. “God’s child.” But the answer stuck in my throat- though I said it- I was quite bitter and hurt and angry. My pastor/friend gently reminded me that the child I lost wasn’t mine- but God’s and a gift from Him. Through that period of discussion and deep prayer I came to the real understanding that the child didn’t belong to me but to the Lord (just as I don’t belong to me nor my husband nor my family etc.) Now, God didn’t take the gift back- I don’t think of God that way. No, I believe God’s plan differed from mine and the gift was here for the length of time He wanted it to be. I believe that God had a reason for that baby’s short, short life and though I may not completely know the reason this side of heaven- that baby did “gift” us in many ways. My baby strengthened my marriage- my husband I lived out our vows in front of each other and the world "in good times and in bad." [My husband's deep love for me, his gentleness and tenderness was lived out when I struggled with the thoughts that something I may have done had caused the baby to die.] My baby also gave me that first glimpse of the father that lay inside my husband. My baby taught me that everything, every day, is a precious gift from the Lord and to treat it as such. Not a day- of any of my 3 subsequent pregnancies did I forget that or that the child I carried was not my own. Nor do I forget it on any other day. Someone once said that my child was blessed not to even know a moment of the pain and evils of this world. It is a different way of looking at it isn’t it? No matter what, I know that it is not forever and that some day I will be holding this dear baby in my arms as I still long to do.
 So is it God’s will when things go wrong? God is good. God is perfect. God is the absence of all evil. What happened was evil. So was God removed from it? Was it God’s will for those children to die?
We think of how long our lives are by our human standards- not God’s.  I am reminded of something by oldest daughter shared with me after a night at VBS. She got out her daddy’s tape measure and pointed to 1 inch. She said, “Mama, this is our life on earth.” Then she proceeded to pull out the whole long 25 ft. tape measure. “And this is our life in eternity. See Mama? Our life here is so short compared to our eternal life. That’s why I’m going to heaven. That’s the eternal life I want.”
We can only understand in human terms. A life ended at 5 or 10 or 20 or 30 or 40 years seems awful short to us. Does God see it that way?
I don’t believe it is ever God’s will for evil things to happen. Just as I don’t believe it was God’s will for Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. It was not God’s will for that man to come into that schoolhouse and do what he did. But I know that God works in the midst of horrible situations and events. I know that lives were spared that day and that God is still God and He reigns supreme.
After I lost our baby, I didn’t say “Oh, it was God’s will.” I sit here thinking can I say it now? Was it God’s will for our baby to die? Yes. I can say that but allow me to rephrase it. I believe it was God’s will that my baby lived as long as it did- not one moment more or one moment less. It is not an easy thing to say and it doesn’t lighten my heart but it does give it purpose. Life is not meaningless- not a single minute of a single day is without meaning. A little over five years ago, my sister-in-law went into early labor with (identical) twins. Hannah, the firstborn, was stillborn. Her sister, Heidi, spent over 8 weeks in NICU and was on the brink of death for the first few weeks. She is now a healthy vivacious 5 year old. I believe Hannah’s life had meaning. Hannah lived as long as God wanted her to in order to sustain Heidi’s life. That is what my sister-in-law believes and what I also believe. Our plans are not God’s plans. God’s plan for Hannah was quite different from ours. Does that make Hannah’s life “less”? No. Her life, brief though it was, held great meaning.
So I believe it was God’s will that these young girls lead the lives they lead for the space of time God allowed. Instead of looking at it as God’s will that they died- I am looking at the glass as “half full” and say that it was God’s will that they lived.

Psalm 39:4-5 “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.”

lovely, lovely post

10:17 AM, 2006-Oct-8 .. Posted by deedee06

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. May any of us who have known loss continue to permit the Lord to make us as silver refined. Bless you today in beautiful Michigan..............Denise (prairiemom)

Thank You

11:27 AM, 2006-Oct-9 .. Posted by Hisirishgem

Your post today gave me great peace about so much!

Amish Schoolhouse Murders

4:11 PM, 2006-Oct-10 .. Posted by Lynne

I had to read your response twice and think about it for a day.
When the Bible says "man's days are numbered", I don't know if it refers to an individual or all people. If you believe that each person has a set number of days, then why do we watch and worry over our children? It it isn't their preordained day to die, then nothing will happen to them.
This is where I had the question about the Amish belief that it was God's will that these children die when and how they did. I always thought God gave us free will, to do good or bad as we choose. We will be accountable for our choices and actions.