Two weeks ago the world was turned upside down for students, families, and employees of The Covenant School in Nashville. Such moments leave us wondering if God is even there? Is He really in control of this broken world? 

The Sunday after the shooting, Covenant Church pastor Rev. Billy Barnes preached on the account at the end of Luke’s Gospel of Jesus’ joining the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Grappling with the loss of their Savior and confusion over the empty tomb, they encounter Jesus whom they do not recognize: “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.”  Jesus met them in their grief and confusion. At the end of the road, when He breaks bread with them, their eyes are opened and they realize Who had been walking with them.  

Wickedness and loss seem to hide God’s presence, but even when we cannot see or feel Him, the Lord is risen and is with us. And, as Rev. Barnes reminded his congregation, “God is in control.”