This article was featured in the Tigard Times: http://tigardtimes.com/features/story.php?story_id=126464173298896500
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,” – Psalm 46:1-2.
The big question that we have heard repeated since the earthquake hit Haiti is, “Where was God?”
There is no promise in scripture that we will not have trouble. In fact, quite the opposite is true; scripture is very clear that in this world we will have trouble, disease, affliction and persecution. It’s part of living in a world bent on promoting its own desires over God’s desires.
This week, in a Goodwill store, I witnessed a young man of about 16 years of age talking to an older gentleman in the religious book section. At one point in their discussion, the older man said, “You can’t believe the Bible is true.” This young man, clearly, confidently and succinctly said, “I do believe the whole Bible is true.” The older man was flabbergasted. He tried to shake this young man’s faith and the young man held fast. In the end, the older gentleman said, “So, Almighty God says that if you don’t believe in me, then you are going to hell!” His decibel levels got louder and he repeated the sentence again, and then a third time, even louder.
My response to a statement like that is that if you know that that is the standard, what stops you from believing?
Either God is who he says he is or he isn’t. If he is, then wisdom dictates that you honor and praise him in your character and behavior. If he isn’t, then you live according to a set of man-made principles. For those who believe that God is who he says he is, his word says that he will be an ever-present help in times of trouble for those that are his.
Scripture does say that there are times that natural disasters are caused by God (Numbers 16, James 5, Rev. 6, 8, 16.) Is every natural disaster a punishment? Absolutely not. Natural disasters sometimes occur due to shifting tectonic plates, divergent weather patterns, etc. We can understand why natural disasters occur. What we do not understand is why God allows them to occur.
We’ve observed in our lifetime that when such occasions arise it causes many to sit back and think about eternity. Our churches are usually overflowing after such an occurrence. People want reassurance and something or someone to hold onto, to rely on when they realize that life is tenuous, at best.
Ultimately, what we have to remember is that truth is no less truth because one chooses not to believe it, like the older gentleman in Goodwill. The truth of scripture tells us that God is good. Many amazing miracles occur during natural disasters. A young woman from the Northwest that was in Haiti had to be dug out of the rubble by her husband and is quoted as saying, “It was a miracle, Mom!” No less of a miracle is the way that Christian ministries are welcomed with the provision of aid, counsel, and prayer during these times.
Not just for the people who are directly affected, but for the world as a whole, natural calamities make us all sit back and reevaluate the priorities in our lives. Calamity should not cause us to doubt God’s goodness but rather turn us toward him in trust.
“Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression,… your eyes will behold your Teacher. Your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’” – Isaiah 30:20-21.