God's intent was for Adam and Eve to live in the Garden of Eden. When they sinned, they had to leave and live in a fallen world with disease and disaster. We should never rejoice at either one, but we should also not be surprised. How do we deal with disaster? Martin Bentley offers some brief thoughts on our response.

Job 38:1 Then the Lord answered Job out of a storm. He said: “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?”

Why did God make our planet seismically active (subject to earthquakes) and meteorologically unstable (stormy)?

Psalm 99:1 The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; He sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Great is the Lord in Zion; He is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name- He is holy.

God made our earth to be shaky and stormy (also beautiful and functional) because He, who is great and awesome, wants us, who are small and weak, to seek Him. Simply stated, “because He loves us”.

When the storms blow and the earth shakes we are to seek God. In fact we are to seek Him always. Secondly, we are to help those who are most impacted, both physically and spiritually.

Matthew 25:34 “Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

In Acts 16:26 Paul experienced an earthquake and took it as an opportunity to baptize a family.

In times of natural disaster, may we see the opportunity to care and to share.

For more thoughts, click here for Dr. John Oakes articles on Pain and Suffering.

Donate and encourage your friends to donate to help Haiti at www.hopeww.org


 
 
by Martin Bentley - Orlando, Florida  -  Thursday, 21 January 2010