(Post by: Lilly Hobbs)
“I’ve heard Hell is out to get us
Some unrighteous grand assault
I could argue it’s the devil
But I could make a case for God.”
The verses above are song lyrics from a song I have been contemplating for months now, and until this moment, I haven’t been able to articulate. In fact, the song is so beautiful and brilliant, I’m not quite sure I will ever be able to effectively communicate my thoughts and feelings about it.
However, since September 10th, 2025, I feel its meaning and depth have only broadened and increased. I know it has, at least, in my life.
Tomorrow marks one month since Charlie was assassinated at Utah Valley University, leaving the majority of us feeling utterly shocked and devastated, like we had just witnessed some unrighteous grand assault.
Indeed, we had. Indeed, we still are.
You know, most days I wonder and question, “What is God doing in the midst of so much evil, tragedy, and brokenness?”
But then I look around in my own little corner of the world, and I see three new souls who have decided to follow Jesus recently. I see young women who are rejecting the boss babe, hustle culture mindset and are instead opening up and sharing about their desire to be godly wives and moms one day. I hear young students asking hard and difficult questions about faith, and I’m watching them come to the realization that Jesus loves them so deeply and dearly.
I have heard of so many individuals returning to church, some even going for the first time, seeking to interact and engage with the one, true God Charlie loved and talked so much about.
So, even amidst such evil and this unrighteous grand assault, we are witnessing incredible growth as the Gospel is being preached more boldly and more clearly than it has been in quite some time.
Of course, any logical thinker is then forced to ask the simple question, “Why?”
Let’s return to our song for some answers, shall we?
Have you ever heard of sequoia trees and what makes them so unique?
The absolutely incredible thing about sequoias, specifically giant sequoias, is that they are the largest tree species in the world by volume. They are known for their impressive height and massive trunks.
Sequoias are native to California’s Sierra Nevada and have the ability to live for more than 3,000 years.
Perhaps the most remarkable fact about these trees is that they reproduce by means of high intensity fire, which is precisely what our song is about. Here’s an excerpt…
“We tower high above our brothers
We reign the sky, but for a time
Alas, we serve beneath the soil
Where our death just makes a way for life
‘We’re here right now in the railroad fire of 2017
Where four years ago, in the Nelder Grove of Giant Sequoias
And right now we’re standing in an area that burned at low intensity
The fire burned in a mix like all wildfires do
It was mostly low and moderate intensity
But there was a portion that burned at high intensity as well
And the interesting thing, and for me as an ecologist
The important thing is that in the low intensity fire areas
There is no giant sequoia reproduction, none
None from before the fire, none after the fire
Because what they need for that is high intensity fire
In other words, it’s fire that’s intense enough
That it actually will kill some of the mature giant sequoias
But what you get in the bargain is hundreds of times more giant sequoias’”
I believe what you and I are witnessing right now, as a result of the unrighteous grand assault that was Charlie’s death, is that his death has powerfully, radically, and miraculously made a way for life.
I only pray that the fire is intense enough that what the enemy gets in the bargain is hundreds of times more Charlie Kirk’s. May the enemy regret this unrighteous grand assault in every generation that follows.
“There’s a saying among the timber workers in Oregon: ‘You never know the height of a tree until it falls.’ That’s the case with Charlie.” (Dennis Prager)
You can listen to Benjamin William Hasting’s song, “Cathedrals of the Nelder Grove” HERE
The Few 
Leave a comment