What God is Saying Through These Natural Disasters
Hurricane Harvey. The 8.1 Earthquake in Mexico. Hurricane Irma. Hurricane Katia. To say the least, it's been a very destructive and disastrous month. Surely God is trying to say something to us. ("He may be, but don't call me Shirley").
It seems like there are a lot of preachers, Christians, and prophets out there translating what God is trying to say to us. From Kirk Cameron to Pat Robertson to everyone in between. And, mostly what people are saying is paraphrased to "God is mad, he's humbling us and wants us to stop pushing the *insert anything you disagree with here* agenda.
Each disaster seems to showcase a dime store prophet that claims to have guessed the reasons of God as if God had shared his opinion in advance. It's laughable abest, and despicable at worst. Many times, it causes the unbelievers to dig in their heels and keep doing whatever offense that has spurned the wrath of God all the more and denounce God even more vehemently. Or, it makes Christians, that actually know better, to shake our heads in disbelief and shame.
Maybe instead of a wrath on "sinners" for acting exactly as "sinners" act, it's a wrath on those of us believers for not doing what He has commanded each and every single one of us to do as part of our daily lives. Maybe He's telling us, "quit being the judge, and let me be the ultimate Judge. Just go out and love, and let me handle the convicting."
Living in the middle of Hurricane Harvey in Houston, I've seen how these disasters actually bring out the true character of people. I've seen "good Christians" share posts that aren't true that tear down other Christians, and they seem to take sport in it. (The Joel Osteen story). They don't even give the benefit of the doubt. It's almost like they're giddy with the fact that a Christian leader would be perceived in a bad light. They relish in his perceived failure. I've seen how churches that have not been affected by floods or the hurricane have reached out their greedy hands to fundraise for their church under the auspices of helping the community AFTER they fix their church (and their church wasn't affected).
In the same way, I've seen the people of God rise up and lead the way into helping our fellow man. Race, sex, creed, sexual orientation, and religion did not matter. The Cajun Army didn't ask someone if they were Christian, Muslim, or Buddhist before they pulled them into a boat and took them to safety. The church down the road that took in refugees didn't refuse entry to Muslim families. None of that mattered. All that mattered was showing people in need that they were loved and meeting those needs. Neighbors side by side helping each other out in whatever way they can.
Personally, I've seen my neighbors rise to the occasion time after time. I've put out requests for donations from food, toiletries, and bedding to Legos for the kids we were spending time with at the shelter. Each and every time our truck has been filled over and above what we expected. We had so many legos that we distributed all over the area, and still had leftovers that we've sent to our school in the Honduras.
But saying that God is sending natural disasters to Christians to be who He has called us to be is just the same as saying God is sending them to call people to repent. The Bible tells us “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” — Isaiah 55:8 We can't know what God is trying to say through natural disasters. Personally, I choose this way of thinking: When God created the world and created Adam and Eve - it was absolutely perfect. Paradise. Everything wonderful. Then when sin entered the world, so did the laws of nature - the good, the bad, and the ugly. So, we will have natural disasters, we will have floods, we will have famine, etc. It doesn't mean God isn't in control or He doesn't exist, but rather He works within the parameters of our fallen world.
Perhaps the reality is something more simple. Perhaps the reality is that as people of faith, we need to realize that we have a gift - and we are no better or no worse than the person down the street who doesn't have faith. Ephesians 2:8-11 tells us, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Having faith doesn't mean we are more important or bigger than those who don't.
