1-800-SAVE ME NOW! (Where's God When Disaster Strikes?)

There's a hurricane brewing in the United States with a pretty scary face. Hurricane Mathew is wreaking havoc on the East Coast of the USA and many prayers have gone out to God concerning the danger and toll the storm will have on human life.

Now is one of those times where doubters may ask: Why hasn't God stopped the hurricane? Why hasn't He protected us? Why don't we live in a perfectly safe world?

Well. Those are some questions that are hard to answer, and I am by no means an expert nor do I speak for the big man Himself. I only know what I think, I only know what I know.

Allow me to answer question three first.

Why Don't We Live In A Perfect (ly safe...) World?

The unfortunate reality is that the world is not a perfect place. It hasn't been perfect since the first bite of the Forbidden Fruit was taken and sin entered into the world. The world became an unsafe place the instant that bite was taken and Satan found a niche of power over the world.

There is always that talk about Good and Bad, Chaos and Balance... well, the world has those. God and Satan are the yin and yang, the forces of unimaginable power that we humans cannot see physically, but are there. Satan is constantly trying to destroy God's people, and that means us as Christians. God is the Creator and our Father, and He is always fighting to protect us. But this is spiritual warfare, and Satan has no qualms with taking casualties.

In a perfect world there would be no hate, no illness, no pain, no natural disasters... And that world does exist. I'll get to that momentarily. Let's answer question one.

Why hasn't God stopped the Hurricane?

Nature is a beautiful place. It is fierce, marvelous, breathtaking, and God's creation as well. No, God doesn't value it like He does it's people, but hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis all have their place on this Earth. Humans have a constant desire to control nature because we have no power over it. And so we cannot fathom why God allows natural disasters to happen.

That is actually the point. God sees things on a far bigger scale than we humans do. He knows why hurricanes happen. He knows when and what will occur. He is the hand that created nature as we know it, and we  cannot fathom why nature operates the way it does. We cannot see why a hurricane would be necessary for the world, or an earthquake, or a volcanic eruption. But they have been happening far before we had the ability to track them with technology, and we cannot stop them. We can only know that God has a purpose for them.

Remember Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 (If you're a Footloose fan, you should know this one!)

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end."

We as humans live such a short life in comparison to the timeline of this Earth. Who are we to assume that hurricanes are senseless destruction? Who are we to assume God does not have a purpose for them?

Yes, it is not a fun thing to recognize. We want so badly to understand and to control the powerful forces of the Earth. We cannot control the weather and so we are afraid. But instead of fearing and questioning the Lord, we should pray for understanding, and for His protection as nature runs it's course.

Which leads to the final question:

Why Hasn't God Protected Us?

That's a hard question. As Christians we hear it a lot, or a variation of it. Why is there disease? Why is there violence? Why aren't we safe?

Well, again, remember the world is full of sin. Sin means disease and pain and suffering. It means bad things can happen and that the world is no longer perfect. But God is not abandoning us. He is protecting us...just in a different way than we may think.

Remember that God sees the Big Picture. He knows our path and holds us in His hands. More importantly He is protecting us and fighting for us. But He isn't fighting for us to have free college, perfect teeth, or no debt. He's fighting for us to have entrance to the REAL Perfect World. That's right, God is busy fighting for our souls so we can enter Heaven.

We are so focused on the world as a physical place. Our homes, our jobs, our cars, even our clothes and things are in prime focus too often. We forget that the true goal is Heaven...not a Mercedes. God fights for us and protects us on the greatest plane of all--the spiritual one. He does care about us and does wish us well, but more importantly, He wishes us a place in His home, where the streets are gold and the gates are pearl.

It is in Heaven that we need not fear natural disasters, disease, and suffering. It is there that we will know true peace.

But What About On This Earth?

On this Earth the Lord remains our protector and our Father. On this Earth, we must remember that He hears our pleas.

But that means we must remember to speak to the Lord. You know how guys always say they can't read a woman's mind? Well we must remember to speak ours to the Lord as well. Communication is important even with the Lord. Is it fair of us to assume that the Creator, who has a lot on His plate, does not wish to hear from us, instead of always reading our minds? Prayer is a powerful tool and God answers it.

Even the great King David turned to the Lord. Psalm 3:4 says, "I call out to the LORD, and he answers me from his holy mountain."

And Jesus reminded us in the book of John that: "In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name."

In these trying and scary times, whatever they are for you, we must turn and pray to the Lord in His son's name. We also need to try and remember that the world is a very big place and the future is a very big picture. The Lord can see the picture and so we must place our trust in Him and know that a place is prepared for us in Heaven where all these worries and sufferings will come to an end.

I hope tonight you will prayer and meditate on Revelations 21:4:

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

And for those Footloose fans...this is for you: