a broken world.
The Bible tells us that when sin entered the world, all
of nature was cursed. Because of this, death is a promised component of this
life and, to put it simply, bad things happen.
Before the fall of man,
the weather was perfect all the time. There was no change in season, no rain or
snow storms, earthquakes, tornadoes or tsunamis. Before the fall of man,
everything worked in perfect harmony. Because of sin, that is no longer the
case.
We must accept the fact that we live in a broken world and expect
that natural disasters will occur.
the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to
frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it,
in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and
brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the
whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the
present time.”
We must remember this world is not our home. While
natural disasters are a reality in this life, for the children of God, there
will be no disasters in eternity.
2. God is sovereign.
We
could argue whether God causes natural disasters or simply allows them to
happen, but the only conclusion we can draw from Scripture is that nothing in
nature happens outside of God’s providence. In Exodus, God clearly sent the
plagues in Egypt. In Genesis, God sent the flood. When we read about Jonah, we
see that God hurled a storm into the sea.
Job 37:6 says, “He says to the
snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’”
Consider Psalm 147: “He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with
rain. He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.” In Amos
4 God says, “I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three
months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field
had rain; another had none and dried up.” Mark 4:9 tells of Jesus rebuking the
wind and saying to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Out of obedience, the wind died
down and was completely calm.
Note how these Scriptures attribute the
weather – good or bad – to the direct controlling hand of God. This is
frightening to many, as it makes God appear rash or untrustworthy. But the truth
is quite the opposite. Which brings us to the third thing we must
remember.
3. God can be trusted.
Many people find it easy to
trust God when they focus on phrases like “God is good” or “God is love,” but we
must remember also that “God is just.” This is difficult for some when faced
with natural disasters in light of verses like Psalm 115:3, which says “Our God
is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him,” or Isaiah 45:7, “I form the light
and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all
these things.”
We look at the world and its natural disasters and decide
what is just and unjust based on our own thoughts and emotions. We look at the
Bible and, rather than letting it say what it says, we interpret it as what we
want it to say. But, we must remember Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not
your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my
thoughts than your thoughts.”
We, who are as broken as all of nature,
are the ones who can not be trusted. Our judgement is not sound. Proverbs 3:5
reminds us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding.” If we can’t trust our God in all things, who then can we
trust?
4. There is still joy to be had.
For many, surviving a
natural disaster means more than losing material possessions; it means losing
loved ones. Under such circumstances, it might seem difficult to experience joy
while facing such devastation, but feeling joy in the face of suffering is not
to deny pain. For children of God, suffering and joy go hand in hand.
Peter wrote to scattered Christians telling them, “In all this you
greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief
in all kinds of trials.” (1 Peter 1:6) Paul is a great example of this also.
While he didn’t face tornados, hurricanes or earthquakes, the list of his
personal trials is quite extensive – you can read about it in2 Corinthians 6:3
-10. Notice his words at the end of his list of trials, “sorrowful, yet always
rejoicing.”
Natural disasters remind us of several truths: life is
short, we are frail, and death is certain. Sadly, we are also reminded of the
countless lost souls among us. By expressing joy in the midst of crisis,
Christians glorify the Lord, encourage one another, and point the lost to hope
in Christ.
Perhaps our best example in suffering is found in Job 1:21.
After losing material possessions, his own health, and all of his children, the
cry of his heart was, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be
the name of the Lord.”
5. Worse things are yet to come.
When
we read Matthew 24:5-8, it’s clear that despite the natural disasters we face
now, there are worse things to come and we must be ready. “For many will come in
my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will
hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must
take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various
places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.”
This verse
sums up all the points above. There are birth pains because we live in a broken
world. God is sovereign and he can be trusted as he tells us to not be alarmed
because these things must take place. We can glorify the Lord in our response to
crises and point others to Christ. But the good news is, while there are worse
things yet to come in this life, Paradise is on the horizon!
Isaiah
25:8-9 tells us, “He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord God will
wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the disgrace of His people
from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken. And it will be said in that day,
‘Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is
the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His
salvation.’”
Please pray with me:
Father God, we praise you for who you are; that you are
sovereign in all things, that you are just and trustworthy, and that you love
your children even though we are sinful and often doubt you when faced with
tragedy. As we watch natural disasters unfold around us, and for those who have
personally been touched by such devastation, help us always to rejoice in you
and to point to the One who paid the price for our undeserved salvation. May the
cry of our hearts ever be, “this world is not our home, come Lord Jesus, come.”
Amen.
[written by Beth Ann Baus, a wife and mother of two
boys]
