Warning

We can know that the Lord goes with us day by day, and we can rely on His guiding hand. In Isaiah 30, we can find these words:
21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.
22 You will also defile the covering of your graven images of silver, And the ornament of your molded images of gold. You will throw them away as an unclean thing; You will say to them, "Get away!"
23 Then He will give the rain for your seed With which you sow the ground, And bread of the increase of the earth; It will be fat and plentiful. In that day your cattle will feed In large pastures.

In Psalm 23, the writer refers to the Lord as his "shepherd." Jesus referred to Himself as the "good shepherd" in John chapter 10. We can recognize and rely on the Lord being with us. If we are discerning, then we can sense the presence of God - and the presence of evil, what's called a "check in our spirit," a warning that God gives, to tell us to "stay away," to head in another direction. He gives us angelic protection, as well. We can place ourselves into the care of our loving Father.

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Jesus reminded His disciples in John 14 that He was sending His Holy Spirit to be with us, to help us, to be our guide. We can find these words in that chapter:
25 "These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

It was supposed to be a glorious time, a celebration of the latest Super Bowl win by the Kansas City Chiefs.  At the parade in Kansas City to honor the football team, suddenly, there was the sound of gunfire. And, in the end, one person was dead and some 20 people were injured, according to a Faithwire story that reported on a family that attended the festivities that day.

Timmy Hensel is an area pastor, and he and his family were situated on the parade route. The article relates that...

...Hensel, pastor of River Church Family in Raytown, Missouri, and the Central Southeast Regional Pastor for the Foursquare Church told CBN News he and his family were on the parade route before the shooting and decided to go to the rally at Union Station.

“We were sitting there and listening to the rally go on [and were] super excited to be celebrating, feeling just this community, camaraderie, and joy,” he said.

Then, Hensel and his wife sensed that it was time to leave. The article reports:

“We just get this prompting that it’s time to leave before … our favorite players are about to speak,” he said, getting emotional as he recalled the moment.

Both he and his wife, Tisha, experienced the same feeling, with his wife asking if it was time to go.

“[We] just felt that sense to go and so we started walking back,” Hensel said. “And, all of a sudden, in a little bit, we’re getting texts, ‘Are you OK?'”

Just moments after the couple and their two children left, the shooting unfolded in the exact spot where they were sitting. Hensel said he later looked at aerial shots and saw blood on the ground in the very location.

The pastor has mixed emotions, and perhaps even a bit of survivor's guilt.  He and his wife were both prompted by the Lord to move, but he also expressed his love for a hurting city; Faithwire states:

The preacher said he’s grateful for the “promptings of the Holy Spirit” and the ability to “recognize His voice and tone.” In addition to his gratitude, though, he is also feeling pain as he continues to process what unfolded Feb. 14.

“I’m also feeling a lot of brokenness and sadness for those who are hurting,” Hensel said. “My city is hurting right now … they’re scared, and angry, and [wondering], ‘Why do things like this keep happening?'”

Pastor Hensel sensed the leadership of the Holy Spirit - the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead; the Spirit whom Jesus said He would send to be our Helper, the same Holy Spirit who lives within us. The challenge is training ourselves to listen.  The pastor says: “It’s not just Sunday...It’s every moment, and so he is speaking all the time and [we need] to train ourselves to know the tone of the Shepherd’s voice, to know that He is speaking, He is guiding, and I’m really grateful for that.”  He added: “I would encourage others to practice listening. We do a lot of talking. We do a lot of praying, which is good, but listening is just as important, because He has something to say.”

And, the article notes that he is continuing to reach out the community in the aftermath of the unsettling incident. 

There was nothing particularly special about Timmy Hensel that would cause him to be singled out that day, other than the sovereign hand of God and his willingness to be tuned in to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps you have been in a situation where you have come close to a tragedy - that car accident that almost happened, for instance. 

We also recognize that there are believers every day that face injury and tragedy.  And, we question, "why?"  We certainly live in a fallen world, but we're perhaps asking the wrong question.  In our difficult times, we should ask "what?" or "how?," seeking God and asking Him how to respond in the challenges that we face. 

We should always be sensitive to the voice of His Spirit, the providential hand of Almighty God as He governs our lives.  There is much we can learn as we submit ourselves to our guide, who will never contradict the Word of God, and will provide good counsel for us to follow.