Closing arguments were heard yesterday in the trial of Derek Chauvin following three weeks of testimony. It is now up to the jury to decide whether or not Chauvin is guilty of the charges for which he stands accused in relation to his role in the death of George Floyd: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.

For many, Chauvin’s guilt was decided as soon as the video of the tragic event went viral shortly after Floyd’s death on May 25^th of last year. Chauvin’s fate, however, is not in the hands of the masses but rather in those of twelve of his peers. As such, what they decide over the coming days will reverberate across the nation and around the world in a way that may shape much of the discourse on issues of race, police conduct, and justice for quite some time.

In light of those potential repercussions, today I’d like for us to focus on how we can best pray for those on the jury, the crowds gathered in anticipation of their verdict, and for our fellow believers to respond in accordance with God’s sense of justice rather than our own.

Why only God can be truly just

Justice can often seem like an elusive concept in our culture. Rarely will multiple people look at the same event or the same outcome and come away with a unanimous understanding of what a just response would look like. And while there are many reasons this is the case—varying degrees of personal proximity to the issue, differing views on the need for grace versus accountability, etc.—the chief factor is that God’s justice is measured out according to a fair and accurate understanding of our sins. We, as fallen humans, lack that ability. 

The third chapter of Genesis offers a helpful example of this distinction.

In this chapter, we see God’s response to the sin of Adam and Eve. He addresses directly what they’ve done wrong, disciplines them in a way that reinforces the gravity of their mistake, but does so from a place of holy opposition to sin rather than a desire to see them suffer. 

Now think back to the last time you were hurt or witnessed an event that filled you with anger and the desire to see justice done. Were you able to respond as the Lord did, administering discipline in accordance with the sin committed? Or did your reaction cross that boundary and come from a place of anger or resentment rather than holiness and the desire for redemption?

If it was the latter, the reason is most likely that when anger leads us to action, the result is often akin to a volcano that has been building toward eruption over a long period of time. Whatever or whomever it is that finally leads us across that threshold to action is likely to receive more than their fair share of our wrath.

As Dallas Willard remarked, “The explosion of anger never simply comes from the incident. Most people carry a supply of anger around with them.” As a result, it is next to impossible for us to justly judge the actions of one person or a group of people when our response is likely determined, at least in part, by the unrelated actions of others as well.

Owning those limitations enables us to better understand why we need the Holy Spirit to help us seek God’s justice for a given situation rather than rely on our own.

Embracing that reality will be essential to justice being done with regards to the outcome and aftermath of Derek Chauvin’s trial as well. As such, let’s close for today by looking at three groups for whom we must pray in light of the need for the Lord’s justice to be done, both in the trial’s outcome and in the aftermath that follows.

First, pray for the jurors

The first group for whom we must pray are the jury members who will soon render the verdict that will ultimately decide Chauvin’s fate. Even without the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the trial, determining if the prosecution has presented a strong enough case that the accused should be found guilty would be a challenging task. When factoring in the outside pressure to come to such a conclusion, their job becomes immeasurably more difficult, even if Chauvin should be found guilty.

Couple that with the temptation to judge Chauvin not just for his role in the death of George Floyd but also as a proxy for other high profile police killings, such as with Breonna Taylor, and, more recently, Duante Wright. Limiting their judgment to the case at hand will likely prove a monumental task.

As such, we must pray that the Lord will give them the ability to judge rightly and fairly based on the evidence presented to render a just decision.

Second, pray for the crowds

And the same is true with regards to the crowds in Minnesota and across the country who have gathered in anticipation of the court’s verdict.

Many see the current trial as an extension of the larger, and often valid, problems with police conduct in this country. To them, Derek Chauvin stands accused not just of killing George Floyd but as a representation of the officers who either have already been acquitted or have yet to stand trial for their roles in the deaths of others. As such, their understanding of justice in this case may not line up with that of the Lord’s, even if their assessment of Chauvin is proven correct.

Pray not only that God’s justice will be rendered in the trial, but that it will prove satisfactory to the masses of people who already seem to have determined what that justice should look like. It is an essential responsibility for us today.

That responsibility, in turn, leads to the last point of prayer we must discuss.

Third, pray for yourself and fellow believers

As followers of Christ, we are tasked with being peacemakers in an often unpeaceful world (Matthew 5:9). It’s important to note, however, that being a peacemaker does not mean simply attempting to limit the presence of conflict in a given situation, though we should seek to avoid actions that would escalate it. Rather, it means being the embodiment of God’s presence and an ambassador for his justice in order to help others look to him for the proper perspective in a given situation. 

Over the coming days, it seems likely that conflict will escalate around the country and social media will once again be filled with people who feel the need to express their views on the situation. Our challenge as believers will be to pray before we post and make sure that we run any and all comments through the lens of Scripture and the Holy Spirit before they escape into the larger world. 

So as we conclude, please join me in committing to make prayer a priority throughout the day. Pray for the jury, pray for the crowds, and pray for yourself and your fellow believers. Do so any and every time the Lord places them on your heart or the news brings them to mind. 

Will you start right now?

Denison Forum

Don Muchow recently ran from Disneyland in Southern California to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida—a trip of more than two thousand five hundred miles. He completed his cross-country trek to bring awareness to Type 1 diabetes, a disease with which he has been living since 1972.

Eight years ago, Heather Abbott was standing near the finish line at the Boston Marathon when two bombs exploded. Four days later, her left leg was amputated below the knee. She received a prosthesis for walking, but insurance would not cover additional prostheses for other activities. When she learned of this problem, she created the Heather Abbott Foundation, which has now raised more than $1 million and helped provide customized prosthetic devices to more than forty-two amputees across the US.

Queen Elizabeth II has announced that she will allow self-guided tours of the historic Buckingham Palace gardens for the first time in the palace’s history. Members of the public will be able to enjoy meadows “carpeted with primroses and bluebells . . . flowering camellia, magnolia and azalea shrubs and trees,” according to the press release.

A paradoxical point of redemption

There is good news to celebrate, but there is bad news to grieve as well.

Three people were shot and killed in Austin, Texas, yesterday. Three other people died in a shooting early yesterday morning in Wisconsin.

The global COVID-19 death toll passed three million on Saturday as cases surge worldwide. A couple was preparing to celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary when the husband was killed in the FedEx mass shooting last Thursday. And a grieving pastor and his wife are asking the public to help police catch whoever killed their daughter in a Birmingham, Alabama, park on Easter Sunday.

Both sides of the news provoke discouragement in me. I cannot run continents, raise millions of dollars for amputees, or offer historic gardens to the public. I cannot stop the pandemic, prevent shootings, or solve the murder in Birmingham.

Here’s the paradoxical point I would like us to consider today: God wants to redeem such discouragement for his highest glory and our greatest good.

This ministry exists to help people respond biblically and redemptively to our fallen culture. But such responses can feel like an exercise in frustration and futility. The moral trajectory of our society is clearly downward; our political divisions are deepening; street violence is threatening; Christian influence seems to be waning.

But when we recognize our inability to make a transforming difference in our broken world, that’s when we can be used by the One who can.

“When I am weak, then I am strong”

Today’s Daily Article was sparked by Br. Todd Blackham’s recent devotional for the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Boston: “The paradox, the crux of our faith, is God’s power being made perfect in weakness. When we can face the sober reality of our helplessness, our powerlessness over sin and separation from the source of life, that’s when Jesus can step in to lift us up.”

When Paul asked the Lord to remove his “thorn in the flesh,” God refused and instead told his apostle, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9a). Paul responded, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (v. 9b). He had learned the source of transforming strength: “When I am weak, then I am strong” (v. 10).

I believe the greatest challenge we face in engaging our fallen culture lies not in the culture but in ourselves. All that Jesus has ever done, he can still do. All of God there is, is in this moment. But he can do through us only what we allow him to do in us.

Self-reliance constricts the Holy Spirit. He can use fully those who depend fully on him. His best for us is far better than our best for ourselves.

Why God gives us discernment

History turns on tiny hinges formed by sacrificial service.

The Battles of Lexington and Concord took place on this day in 1775. Eight Americans were killed at the Battle of Lexington: John Brown, Samuel Hadley, Caleb Harrington, Jonathan Harrington, Robert Munroe, Isaac Muzzey, Asahel Porter, and Jonas Parker. They died never knowing that their sacrifice would spark the American Revolution and change history.

The next time you encounter something in the news that discourages you, embrace that feeling. Don’t turn off the news or turn away in despair. Instead, name the hopelessness you feel and the inadequacy it incites in your spirit.

Now turn your weakness into a request for God’s strength. Ask him to give you words to pray and say, steps to take, compassion to offer.

Oswald Chambers reminded us that “God never gives us discernment so that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.” When we choose to pray and serve despite all opposition and discouragement, we experience the power of God in ways that will change our lives and our culture.

One of my great privileges as a pastor in Dallas was to develop very close friendships with two other pastors in our community. I was eating lunch with them one day when we began discussing the persecuted church around the world and the joy that believers experience when they suffer for Jesus.

One of my friends made this profound point: “When Christianity is easy, it is hard. When Christianity is hard, it is easy.”

Which is true for you today?

Denison Forum

Eight people were shot and killed and several others injured Thursday night in a mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Officer Genae Cook told a media briefing that the scene was an active shooter situation when officers arrived just after 11 p.m. local time.

Police reported that the alleged shooter “has taken his own life.” Multiple victims were transported to various hospitals in the area. One person was in critical condition, according to police. 

“This is a sight that no one should see,” Cook told the media briefing. The identity and motive of the shooter have not been released as of this hour, nor have the names of the victims been publicly released. 

Every day could be our last day 

At the moment of this writing, 46,500 people have died so far today. By the time you read these words, the number will have continued to escalate. Death is a present reality every day we live. For example: 

• On this day in 2017, a college senior killed thirty-two people on the campus of Virginia Tech before taking his own life.
• On this day in 2014, the South Korean ferry Sewol capsized and sank, killing 304 people, most of whom were high schoolers.
• On this day in 2011, a Taliban sleeper agent detonated a vest of explosives hidden under his uniform, killing six American soldiers, four Afghan soldiers, and an interpreter.
• On this day in 1947, a ship carrying ammonium nitrate blew up in the harbor in Texas City, Texas. A nearby ship carrying ammonium nitrate and sulfur caught fire and exploded the following day. The blasts and fires killed nearly six hundred people.
• On this day in 1945, a Soviet submarine in the Baltic Sea torpedoed and sank the MV Goya, which Germany was using to transport civilian refugees and wounded soldiers. It is estimated that up to seven thousand people died.

These calamities from the past remind us that every day could be our last day. Tragedies such as the FedEx shooting especially affect us because they strike close to home. While we do not know the motive of the shooter at this time, we do know that what happened at the FedEx building could happen nearly anywhere to nearly anyone. Including you and me. 

What I do not know today 

Does God’s word offer us help and hope as we respond to another mass shooting and as we face our own mortality?  

The Bible explains crimes such as the FedEx shooting as the tragically sinful misuse of human freedom that began in the Garden of Eden and continues today. It promises God’s presence and empathy with all who suffer as a result of such sin or any other calamity in this fallen world. It calls God’s people to be his instruments of intercession, compassion, and ministry for those affected by such tragedy. 

However, it does not tell us why innocent people are so often the victims of sin or calamity that is not their fault. I don’t know why my father died from heart disease at the age of fifty-five or why my oldest son had to suffer from cancer. 

A FedEx employee told reporters after the shooting, “Thank God for being here because I thought I was going to get shot.” What of those who were? 

I do not know why the innocent victims of this tragedy had to suffer and die. I do not know why some survived and others did not. But there is much that I do know that is relevant to us today. 

Five promises we can claim today 

I read daily from Daily Light for Every Day, a compilation of biblical readings by Anne Graham Lotz. Anne writes: “Without fail, the verses selected for a particular day’s reading seem to speak specifically to that day’s needs. In fact, God has spoken to me more often through the verses in Daily Light than through any other book, except the Bible.”  

After reading this morning of the tragedy in Indianapolis, I read verses in her volume for today that teach these life principles: 

One: We can speak to God honestly about our fear, confusion, and doubts. 

David told the Lord, “I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold: I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me” (Psalm 69:2). We can name our pain and tell God about it. 

Two: We can know that God hears us when we call. 

David testified: “I had said in my alarm, ‘I am cut off from your sight.’ But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help” (Psalm 31:22). God hears us when we do not hear him. 

Three: We can fight fear with faith. 

The writer of Lamentations said, “Water closed over my head; I said, ‘I am lost.’ I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit; you heard my plea, ‘Do not close your ear to my cry for help!’ You came near when I called on you; you said, ‘Do not fear!’” (Lamentations 3:54–57). He offers us the same assurance today. 

Four: When we struggle to find hope in the present, we can remember God’s faithfulness in the past. 

The psalmist asked, “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?’” (Psalm 77:7–9). Then he responded: “I said, ‘I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.’ I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old” (vv. 10–11). 

How has God been faithful to us in the past? Since he does not change (Malachi 3:6), we can claim his faithfulness today. 

Five: We can trust God for a better future in the midst of present tragedy. 

David testified, “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!” (Psalm 27:13). Since we are the child of God and nothing can take us from his omnipotent hand (John 10:29), we can claim David’s promise today. 

“Weep with those who weep” 

I invite you to make these promises yours wherever you need the assurance of God’s love and grace in your life today. Then please join me in praying for the victims of the FedEx shooting and their families. Pray that God’s Spirit working through God’s people will make these promises real and relevant for them. Pray for them to have the faith to believe that God is redeeming this tragedy in ways we may see and ways we may not on this side of eternity (1 Corinthians 13:12). 

God’s word calls us to “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). The Savior who “always lives to make intercession” for us (Hebrews 7:25) is grieving right now (John 11:35). 

Let’s join him on our knees. 

Denison Forum