WWJD By Dr. Richard Youngblood
Question: How should we interpret natural disasters like the ice
storm? What can we learn from this
experience?
As creator of heaven and
earth, our God is the sovereign ruler of all things (Colossians 1:15-17). There is no place we can flee from the
presence of His Spirit (Psalm 139:7-11); and as the Almighty Lord God “who is,
and who was, and who is to come,” he is not limited in time or space (Revelation 1:8).
This means that nothing can happen outside of his divine
knowledge or presence. Through the
questions he posed to Job, God also made it clear that he is the source of
natural phenomena like snow, wind, lightning, rain and ice (Job 38:22-30).
However,
to declare that God is the source and controller of nature’s events is not to
say we have the ability to know his purpose in these events. In fact, there are numerous purposes he may
be accomplishing in any one event. For
example, the statement of Jesus that the Heavenly Father “causes his sun to
rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the
righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew
5:45) suggests that he may often allow nature of function by its own
random processes. At the same time, the
Lord may use the events of our world to test those who trust him so they can
develop spiritual maturity and perseverance (James 1:2-4; cf. Romans
5:3-4). The prophet Isaiah said God sometimes
comes “with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with windstorm and tempest
and flames of a devouring fire” against those who are enemies of his people (Isaiah 29:6).
However, Jesus also made it clear that suffering disaster should not be
equated with being a sinner (Luke 13:1-5).
At other times God may use a tragic event as an opportunity to show his
power to heal (John 9:1-3). The writer
of the letter to the Hebrews says that God disciplines his people as a loving
father does his children for their good.
Hebrews 12:11 says: “No discipline seems pleasant at the
time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness
and peace for those who have been trained by it.” By means of the ice storm we experienced, God
may have been accomplishing any one or all of the above.
As one
who also experienced the ice storm, I was impressed by the reactions of
people. The ice storm brought out both
the best and the worst in people. For
the most part, our citizens were patient and thoughtful of one another. The deeds of kindness have continued as we
have cleaned up the aftermath of the storm.
But others became irritable and selfishly insisted that the electric
companies turn their power on before others.
Some people horded the limited supplies of water and food, denying these
things to other people in need. Some are
now taking advantage of people by charging excessively high prices for cleaning
up the debris of the storm. The storm
exposed the real hearts of people.
In
addition, I was impressed by the way folks slowed down their busy lives. I came to see having time to rest and enjoy
relaxed conversation with my wife as a blessing. There was also time
for reading, meditation and much needed sleep—without TV and constant
deadlines. I was also amazed at the
creative ways some of us managed to meet our needs during the storm days. For years to come, we can fascinate our
friends and families with the stories of the 2009 ice storm.
Instead
of asking why God brought the ice storm, perhaps we should give thanks for it. This does not mean that we deny the hardships
created by the storm or that we do not weep over any lives that were lost as a
result of it. However, we can also see the
possibility that God may have been working in all of this. As Romans
8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of
those who love him, who have been called according to his
purpose.”
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