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 Religion
Answers to Natural Disasters By Pastor Phillip Howle web posted February 10 2010 RELIGION – Last week we looked at a few wrong answers as to how or why do natural disasters occur. Now we come to an even harder task, and that is how Christians can believe in an all powerful and all good God in the face of natural disasters and death on such a massive scale. Jews and Muslims also face this problem, but they do so differently because the lack they power and hope of the cross. In my recent memory of major natural disasters, I think about the 2004 tsunami in Asia, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and now the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. This does not included other local tornados or floods that kill people as well. These events inevitably cause people to question God’s goodness. Now I personally find it odd that major natural disasters are often termed “acts of God.” I mean I am not denying God’s hand in the matter, but God gets no credit for all the days of beautiful weather that we enjoy. God gives years, decades, and even centuries of peaceful weather, but very few enjoy a great Saturday and call the climate an “act of God”. The ungrateful heart of sinful man is clearly shown in this fact. Scripture tells us that God created the whole universe and the laws of nature (Genesis 1:1). Most natural disasters are a result of these laws at work. I am not a meteorologist, but I know that hurricanes, typhoons, and tornados are the results of divergent weather patterns colliding. We know that earthquakes are the result of the earth’s tectonic plates structure shifting and a tsunami is caused by an underwater earthquake. Colossians 1:16-17 tells us about God’s control over weather “because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him.(17)He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.” So the Bible is not afraid to say that that Jesus Christ holds all of nature together. I trust Jesus far more than meteorologists with our universe. Could God prevent natural disasters? Yes. Does God sometimes influence the weather? Yes, as we see this in Deuteronomy 11:17” Then the LORD's anger will burn against you. He will close the sky, and there will be no rain; the land will not yield its produce, and you will perish quickly from the good land the LORD is giving you.” Then again in Numbers 16:30-34 we see that God sometimes causes natural disasters as a judgment against sin. The book of Revelation describes many events that can be described as cataclysmic natural disasters (Chapters 6, 8, and 16). So is God free to use weather as a punishment against His creation? Yes. But is every natural disaster a punishment from God? Absolutely not. We looked at this point last week. God says in Ezekiel 18:23 “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?" This is the declaration of the Lord GOD. "Instead, don't I take pleasure when he turns from his ways and lives?” God’s desire is for people to turn to Him. 2 Peter 3:9 affirms this “The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.” Stay with me here. Our world (Earth, solar system, ground, weather, etc.) suffers from the fall of man into sin. Read Genesis 1-3 to get a glimpse of how life was to be lived and enjoyed designed by God. God gave man a right to chose to love and obey or reject and walk away. And man chose to sin. This choice set in motion consequences that affected not just their lives, but the totality of creation. So God allows all of us to make choices today, and this includes allowing people to commit evil acts. God also allows the earth to reflect the consequences sin has had on creation. Its weather patterns suffer from our sinful choices. This includes draught, famine, and disaster. They all stem from the fall in the Garden of Eden. Romans 8:19-22 tells us “Creation was subjected to frustration but not by its own choice. The one who subjected it to frustration did so in the hope (21) that it would also be set free from slavery to decay in order to share the glorious freedom that the children of God will have. (22) We know that all creation has been groaning with the pains of childbirth up to the present time.” You see the fall of humanity into sin had effects on everything, including the world we inhabit. Everything in creation is subject to frustration and decay. Sin is the ultimate cause of natural disasters just as it is the cause of death, disease, and suffering. Not just the certain sins of a specific geographic locale, but my sin and your sin. The world, due to our sin, just ain’t the way it ought to be. So, here is what we are left with: 1. God controls the weather 2. God can use the weather to punish evil in some occasions (but we should refrain from speaking on behalf of God here) 3. Our world functions wrongly due to our sin 4. God desires for mankind to know and love Him 5. God works all things to good (Rom 8:28). God allows our wrongly functioning world to bring about natural disasters. God knows and willingly allows this to happen. However, God does not stop there. These events serve to shake our confidence in ourselves and force us to think about eternity. You see churches overflowing after “Acts of God” take place as people realize how fragile their lives really are and how life can be taken away in an instant. Many amazing miracles occurred during the course of natural disasters that prevented even greater loss of life. People see God’s power at work in the midst of the darkness. Natural disasters cause millions of people to reevaluate their priorities in life. Hundreds of millions of dollars in aid is sent to help the people who are suffering. Christian ministries have the opportunity to help, minister, counsel, pray, and lead people to saving faith in Christ. God is good and God is efficient! God can, and does, bring great good out of terrible tragedies (Romans 8:28). The cross of Jesus shows us this. 2,000 years ago a young man in the prime of His life, full of love, full of potential, and devoid of sin and evil was wrongfully nailed to a cross to die. This was the predetermined plan of God the Father, to allow His Son to be the sacrifice for our sins that we might be forgiven. That we might be assured of eternity on a New Heaven and New Earth (Rev 21-22) enjoying life as it was meant to be. The cross also shows us that nothing (the worst nature can throw at us) will as Romans 8:38-39 says “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, (39) nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Matthew 8:23-8:27 also shows that Jesus may not calm every storm in your life, but by His presence He can calm your fears and lead you to a greater knowledge of Himself through them. Please pray for our group. We leave early Saturday, Feb 13th and arrive home late Friday, Feb 19th. Pastor Phillip © Copyright 2010
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