Questions

This has been a tough week for Texas and those impacted by the July 4 floods. Many innocent people died doing what they enjoyed doing during a long weekend or at a Summer camp. Those people and those that loved them had no expectation of disaster, but the disaster came anyway. Death visited many that night and the aftermath has been devastating to all of us. We are all affected one way or another.

When disasters strike, people question God. People want to know where God was during the night. Where was He when those children were desperate for a helping hand and salvation ? Why didn't He stop the flood waters from drowning so many innocent lives ? Why didn't He hear the cries for help and do something, anything ? Why ?

Those are difficult, but valid questions. Even believers in Jesus start asking those questions at times. They know Him, but understanding His ways is not possible. When friends and family are greatly impacted, somebody has to answer for that and God is many times the target of that blame and anger. Especially when it's a "act of God" that causes the disaster (I hate that God is the insurance reason for not paying claims).

We know that God put physical laws in place to keep physical order on the Earth. Sometimes those physical laws cause happy sunny days to warm our souls. Sometimes those physical laws cause rain and lightning and thunder. Sometimes those laws result in mudslides and forest fires or sometimes they result in beautiful fields of flowers and fresh fruits. Those laws of nature are what sustains life and allows us to breathe the air we need to live here.

It is when those same laws of nature seem to go haywire that we cry out and blame God for the loss of life and the loss of property. We think it's God's will that our friends and family die in horrible natural disasters. We don't understand His reasoning in these times and we can't fathom any reason for not interfering to save lives. We ask the difficult why questions and we expect an answer.

I go back to Romans 8:28. Romans 8:28 says that all things (e.g., blessings, curses, disasters) work (action word) for the good (benefit) of those who love Him (God). But we forget Romans 8:18 which says we must still put up with the present sufferings. We have never been promised a rose garden. Bad things happen to good people. We will all suffer loss or hardship or some other discomfort during our lives (if we're older than 3). We don't always understand the whys and the wherefores, but it is a fact.

So, pray for those affected by the July 4 flooding. Pray for the first responders who are in recovery mode. Pray for the decision-makers who will have to figure out a way to make this better if it happens again. Pray for our leaders to have compassion instead of hubris. Pray for all of us to help where we can.

And remember that God is a Big God who can take the heat, but He is also a compassionate God who is greatly saddened by these deaths. His ways are not our ways, so just be patient and see what good comes from this disaster. Something great is on the way !!!!