The assassination of Charlie Kirk. The stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee on a subway platform. Wars that rage in Europe, the Middle East, Africa. Riots in the streets. Fear and doom scrolling endlessly across our screens.
It feels like the world has been flipped upside down. The despair is palpable, the anger contagious. The noise is overwhelming, shouting for justice, for revenge, for blood. But in moments like these, we are confronted by a Word that cuts against the grain of our emotions:
“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
-Psalm 27:14
The Temptation to Rage
When violence erupts in our spaces and among our people, our first instinct is to lash out. To blame. To sensationalize. To ride the tidal wave of social media outrage. We look for saviors in political figures or charismatic personalities. We anchor our hope in systems that keep breaking, in leaders who eventually fall.
But the once violent persecutor turned missionary – Paul reminds us:
“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
-Ephesians 6:12
The assassins, the politicians, the media machine—none of them are ultimate. The real battle is deeper, darker, unseen. So we must lift our eyes beyond the chaos of headlines and to the throne that cannot be toppled.
The Kingdom Perspective
As shocking as Charlie Kirk’s murder is, let’s not forget: America is not the center of God’s story.
God’s kingdom is not dependent on Washington, D.C. or Silicon Valley. The throne is not in the White House but in heaven, and the King is not Republican or Democrat but Jesus Christ, crucified and risen.
Even now, movements of God are shaking villages in Africa, filling secret house churches in Iran, multiplying disciples in Southeast Asia, breaking chains in prisons in Latin America. The Spirit of God is alive and moving in places unseen beyond our phone screens. The martyrs and the nameless saints there—most of whom we will never know this side of eternity—are bearing fruit that dwarfs the influence of any American commentator.
Charlie Kirk believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ – and for that truth I believe he gave his life. But let’s remember: there are countless brothers and sisters whose names will never trend on X, yet their lives are being poured out like drink offerings, leading multitudes to worship the King of Kings. Just like the martyrs whose stories we may never know, we often feel the silence of God in the face of such voilence and loss.
The Silence of God?
“Where is God when violence reigns?” That question echoes through the blood and chaos.
The Bible doesn’t shy away from that lament. The psalmists cried it. The prophets demanded it. Even Jesus groaned it on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
But the silence of God is not the absence of God. When we cannot hear Him, we look to the cross—and we find Him there. Justice will be done. Every assassin, every persecutor, every system of oppression will face the righteous Judge. And even more astonishing: every sinner who repents, no matter how bloody their hands, will be washed clean by the Lamb.
That’s why vengeance is not ours. Forgiveness does not deny justice—it entrusts justice to the only One who judges rightly.
A Holy Resistance
So what do we do? Do we sit idly by and watch the world burn?
Hell No. Waiting on the Lord is not passive resignation. It is active trust. It is a holy resistance against despair, outrage, and revenge. It means standing firm in a violent world, not with the weapons of this world, but with the cross-shaped counter-cultural love of Christ.
Jesus did not topple Rome with swords. He laid down His life. He absorbed the violence of the world into His body, and in His resurrection He disarmed the rulers and authorities of this dark age.
We are called to walk in His way:
Proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom. Living with radical love and forgiveness. Enduring persecution with joy. Refusing to let violence define us, because resurrection already has.
The Remedy for a Broken World
Let’s be honest: politics will not heal us. Social media movements will not heal us. Even the best laws cannot heal us.
The only healing remedy for the violence and despair of this world is the Good News of Jesus Christ – that we are all broken and that the Son of God lived, died, was buried and rose from the grave to restore us back to our Creator. He is the One who makes scarlet sins white as snow. He is the One who breaks the cycle of grievance and revenge. He is the One who turns enemies into family.
This is not sentimental escapism—it is the most subversive truth in the universe. The meek will inherit the earth. The peacemakers will be called sons of God. And the crucified Jew from Nazareth will reign forever.
Wait. For. The. Lord.
Yes, the blood cries from the ground. Yes, the world groans as in childbirth. Yes, assassinations and wars will shake us. But our hope is not in keeping America safe, or in finding the next strongman, or in clinging to the next cultural hero.
Our hope is in the Lord.
So wait for Him. Be strong. Take heart. The Spirit is on the move, even in the darkest corners. Through persecution and death, through assassinations and betrayals, through tears and blood—He is bringing the nations to worship.
One day we will see the full harvest. Martyrs from Laos, mothers from Nigeria, pastors from Iran, orphans from Ukraine, saints from every tribe and tongue—all gathered before the throne, all crying out:
“You are worthy…because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
-Revelation 5:9-10
Until then, do not give in to the enemies rage bait. Do not center your hope on any one person or nation, but on Jesus who rules over every people and every place.
Be strong, take heart and wait for the Lord.
The Asian Rough Rider 